Angel's Fall
by purpleeyednekoyoukai
Summary: A recent treaty with the Angel Kingdom results in my OC joining the Spirit Detectives...things get messy due to a combination of insanity, misunderstandings and "one whacked up fruit loop". Beware lots of Latin. HieiOC
1. Part A

Alright gang, welcome to Chapter One of Angel's Fall. This is one of a trilogy of stories I'm writing. Part one (Angel's Fall) is already completed and part two is currently being worked on.

I have tried (and most likely failed, lol) not to make my main OC, Kohaku/Haku a Mary-Sue. So if you dislike OCs, etc. please leave now.

Flames will be used to burn my report card once it comes. (Woohoo, bonfire-on-the-front-lawn-at-four-AM time!)

Warnings: Language (lots.), some gorey-ish things (yes and no xD)

"Talking"  
'Thinking'  
(Translations/Point of View changes)  
/Telepathisis/

Name: Haku (full name: Kohaku)  
Species: Angel  
Status: former Guard Captain, currently in Spirit World to fill the requirements of a treaty with the A.K. (Angel Kingdom)  
Eye Color: grey  
Hair Color: forest green  
Height: 5' 5''  
Age: 200+

-x-x-x-x-  
(Haku's P.O.V.)

I yawned tiredly, thoroughly miserable as I glared up at the dark purple night's sky. The rain was currently coming down in torrents and the tree I had taken refuge under didn't seem to be protecting me very well. Add in the fact that this is my first time being in the human realm, let alone seeing the anomaly known as rain and now someone can probably figure out why I'm so pissed. I closed my eyes, trying (in vain it appeared) to will my headache away; it continued persistently, in spite of or perhaps because the cool rain was currently cascading down my face. I blinked in a slow, dazed manner as I heard a human of some sort complain; he sounded at a distance. The world slowly became darker as the feeling of the rain drifted off and slowly vanished. My last thought was that the complaining one was approaching where I was; the darkness then consumed me.

"What kind of stunt was that supposed to be, Koenma?!"

"It was no stunt, I assure you. The portal creator malfunctioned--"

"Malfunctioned MY ASS! This is ridiculous; you had no idea how to even treat her. She would be dead now if it weren't for my interference!" The first, familiar voice growled. I could have sworn it sounded like Kira...wait. That **was** Kira. Shit. I am so royally f--

"Hi!" Chirped a happy sounding pink and blue blob.

I backed away, my vision not entirely restored yet. "My vision's not quite back." I supplied, sensing the hurt from the...girl? Yeah, girl. No self respecting boy would wear pink anyway unless...never mind. (1)

"Oh." Came the semi-relieved sounding reply as my vision sharpened. I assumed the girl in front of me was a ferry girl but she sure as hell wasn't living up to her western name. Bright pink clothing, baby blue hair, friendly magenta eyes and a sunny smile didn't exactly scream "grim".

"Greetings." I stated flatly, hoping my only clothing option wouldn't be pink. If it was, f--

"Salutations." She returned happily.

--this mission. I rolled my eyes mentally, surprised but pleased to find my ability to breathe without panting for air had returned. Ignoring the beeping machine to my left, I sat up and stared at the thing inserted into my arm.

'What the HELL is this thing doing in my arm!?' I growled, tugging at it angrily, only to find it was attached. With a snarl reminiscent of a demon I'm sure, I yanked the thing out of my arm and chucked it across the room. When the device next to me started to beep, I pointed at it. "Praemium." Smirking in satisfaction, I blinked at the rather annoyed Kira.

"Quare abyssus did vos operor ut?" She inquired. (Why the hell did you do that?)

"Sic is res est non nonnullus valde malum?" (So this thing is not some great evil?) A sigh proceeded her answer.

"Is est quare nos should have had illud dictata." (This is why we should have had those lessons.)

"Oh, you mean those ones "sensei" insisted were a waste of time?" I casually switched from our native language, Latin, as I noted the confused looks.

"Yes. Those." I don't think her tone has ever been quite that flat before.

"Whoa. What'd you DO to it?!" The tallest one, who had orange hair and black colored eyes asked, gaping at the infernal beeping thing. Or should I say what remained of the infernal beeping thing?

"EGO blew is sursum." I replied proudly. (I blew it up.) Kira smacked her forehead.

"Vos es penitus quoque alica gauisus." she growled at me. (You are entirely too spell happy.)

"EGO teneo." I shrugged. (I know.)

"What'd she say?" The one with the short, slicked back black hair and chocolate brown eyes wanted to know.

"She said she blew it up." We stated in unison; I didn't really mind referring to myself in the third person. I glanced at the three that had yet to speak: the shortest one with the binky and Jr. stamped on his forehead had to have been Koenma. The other two had to be Kurama and Hiei, not that I could tell who was who when it came to them. That meant the two who had spoken were Kuwabara and Yusuke...although I still had no idea who was who, beyond Kira and Koenma, that is. Koenma sighed and ran had over his face.

"Haku, is it?" He questioned.

"Sic." I blinked and then nodded, remembering they didn't know Latin.

"Welcome to Spirit World."

"EGO eram admiratio qua EGO eram..." I mumbled, then mentally smacked myself. NO MORE LATIN DAMMIT! He blinked, taken aback probably, and sighed. (I wondered where I was.)

"This," he pointed at the one with chocolate colored eyes and black hair, "is Yusuke. He's the captain of Team Urameshi."

"Nice condeco vos." I nodded, sighing mentally. This not talking in Latin stuff is going to be much harder than I thought. (Nice to meet you.)

"That," he gestured at the tallest one who had carrot colored hair and black eyes, "is Kuwabara." I nodded. "That's Kurama." He pointed at the one with flaming red hair and emerald green eyes.

"EGO admiratio quam is got saeta ut rutilus," I murmured, wondering why there were no redheaded angels. Kira chuckled. (I wonder how he got hair that red.)

"All angels have brunette, grey, silver, green, blonde, white or black hair. It's probably a bit of a shock to see red hair for her." The brunette commented.

"Is est non!" I shot back, lobbing my pillow at her. It collided with her face, making a "pwaff"-ing sound; I smirked. "Super, vos have rectus puniceus virga in vestri saeta. Quis fatum quam ut?!" (It is not! Besides, you have natural purple streaks in your hair. What's weirder than that?!)

"Touché." Kira nodded before lobbing the pillow back on the bed.

"This is Botan and that's Hiei." Koenma added before a pillow fight could start up.

"Rutilus eyes. Fatum." I nodded, ignoring Kira, who was now in stitches. (Red eyes. Weird.)

"You met the freakin' Lord of Death and greeted him calmly while asking how his day had been so far and yet you're surprised by--" I lobbed my pillow at her again.

"Amitto!" I stated flatly, crossing my arms. (Loser.)

"Shut sursum!" she growled. (Shut up.)

"Ioco iocor." I grumbled. (Make me.)

"EGO mos." She hissed back. (I will.)

"Bonus. Can nos operor is laxus? EGO would amo video vidi visum quis they can operor pro EGO team sursum per lemma...si ut okay per vestri regius highness." (Good. Can we do this later? I would like to see what they can do before I team up with them...if that's okay with your royal highness.)

"Nice." Kira grumbled flatly. "She said she'd like a demonstration, if possible."

"Demonstration?" Koenma asked, raising an eyebrow as the four exchanged glances.

"Have the idiot woman say it herself." Hiei growled.

"Qualis of everto est is usquam?" I wondered aloud. (What kind of demon is he anyway?)

"Dimidium incendia, dimidium glacies." Came the flat response.

"Ooooh, impermissus parvulus." I blinked, noticing a wet, slippery substance sliding down my arm. Looking down, I saw my silvery blood draining from my wrist. "Uh...Ki?" When she turned, the boys followed and they stared at my wrist. (Forbidden child.)

"What's that silvery stuff?" Kuwabara, I believe his name was, said.

"Cruorem." I replied. (Blood.)

"What did you do, rip out the IV?!" Kira flicked her fingers at me and holy fire healed the hole in my wrist.

"IV...? Operor vos vilis ut res?" I pointed at the "IV" that I had thrown across the room; Kira sighed. (You mean that thing?)

"THIS is why I told you NOT to attempt any type of medical treatment. Not only will it not help, but it'll probably get destroyed." Kira indicated the infernal beeping thing. "Speaking of that, fix it."

"Nolo ut." I replied. "Is mos beep procul mihi!" (I do not want to. It will beep at me!)

"K--"

"Renovo!" I half-shouted, pointing at it. (Repair.) As predicted, it began to beep again. I crossed my arms and shot Kira a look. "Confuto," I mumbled, smirking mentally as the beeping stopped. (Silence.)

"Good." Kira stated flatly, not having noticed my extra spell.

"Well, I think we should oblige her." Koenma commented; Yusuke and Kuwabara seemed not bothered. I could tell Kurama and Hiei were annoyed, though.

"Quare es they punctum?" I mumbled to Kira as we walked toward what I assumed was a training arena. (Why are they annoyed?)

"I don't know, so watch your back." She replied carefully. As we entered, I felt alien magic wash over me; Kira did too, judging from the expression on her face.

"Would you like to fight them?" Koenma inquired from the head of the group.

"EGO eram sub infigo ut EGO eram hic honoro a pax, non fio a proeliator." I growled, glaring daggers at Kira; she merely sighed. (I was under the impression that I was here to honor a treaty, not become a warrior.)

"If I had told you **that** you never would have agreed to come."

"Haud, vere?" I returned sourly. (No, really?)

"Bonus fortuna." She retorted before vanishing, leaving me with a demi-god, a human, two human-demon hybrids and a full demon. Joy. (Good luck.)

"Teres." I mumbled. (Fine.)

"Um, Japanese?" Kuwabara muttered.

"Or at least a non-dead language?" Yusuke countered; I nodded.

"Okay." Koenma shrugged and headed off.

"Deus contemno mihi." I grumbled. "So who'm I fighting first?" (God hates me.)

"You can speak English?" Kurama inquired calmly but I saw his eyes darken.

"Sometimes. We're required to know almost every language in existence and I've not spoken English for a while. I never actually learned Japanese, beyond "hai", "aa", "arigato", "iie" and some other random words that aren't exactly applicable."

"Such as?" His eyes got worse.

"Such as profanity." I returned, my voice matching his for coldness.

"You angels are all alike." He hissed, startling his companions.

"Oh?" I raised an eyebrow. "And just how many angels have you met, Youko Kurama?"

"Three." He stated icily.

"And I'm assuming one of those is me and another is Kira?" His nod was all I needed. "Good for you. Judge the entire angel race based on three of us. Hm, I wonder how familiar that sounds?"

"You mean...like how it's done to demons?" Kuwabara finally spoke up; I nodded.

"I know there are grossly exaggerated prejudices of both species, although at this rate, I think I'll be convinced." I grumbled. "What I wouldn't give for a patrol right now..."

"So you could kill some more demons?" The fox demon hissed at me.

"Actually, as squad leader, I make any and all demons caught be dropped back home, provided they don't have ulterior motives." I stated flatly, crossing my arms. "Not all angels are heartless." Despite the uneasy atmosphere, we all began our matches. I beat Kuwabara, though it took a while. He refused to fight me and I refused to fight someone who wouldn't fight back, but at the threat of loosing, I knocked him out painlessly.

My next match was against Yusuke: he and I sparred for what seemed like days before we moved into close combat. It ended with Yusuke about to blow my head off and me about to electrocute his heart. Our audience called it to a halt once we hit that, obviously fearing for their captain's life. Well, it could have been worse.

The next match I enjoyed to an extent. While not heartless, I can be extremely sadistic at times. Maybe I ought to just make myself forget what he said. As it was, I'm betting what I pulled wasn't helping my case against his prejudice. Breaking both his arms and destroying all the seeds he was carrying on him probably weren't the best of ideas if one was on good terms with him, let alone thin ice. That match was stopped once I broke the other arm, so it was Hiei's turn.

It started and I didn't even have time to breathe before he was on me. The bastard didn't even draw his sword: he just came in, swinging and connecting every time. I winced repeatedly and tried to fend off the blows but I was nowhere near skilled enough to. Eventually I stopped even feeling them connect, so I managed to gather some air in my lungs.

"Congelo." I managed to croak out and crumpled to the ground, glad the relentless attacks were done with. By now I think the other three were watching. After a few moments, I glanced up at my assailant to find a small bit of panic shining in his eyes. "Oops...musta done it a bit too well...Haud congelo!" Regaining the ability to move, he too collapsed to the ground, panting and gasping for air. (Freeze. No freeze.)

"Yo, Hiei, you okay?" Yusuke ran over as Kuwabara stumbled, following. Kurama remained where he was, probably prevented from doing so by the pain in his arms. I moved to gesture at him and was startled to find both guys holding Hiei back, although Yusuke looked like he had half a mind to let him go. I stuck my tongue out at him and gestured, muttering "vigoratus!" Kurama blinked and moved his arms, staring. "I _told_ you I wasn't heartless, argentum vulpes volpes." (Heal!...Silver fox.)

"What did you just call him?" Hiei growled, released.

'Sheesh, lovers are rather pissy when the other's beat up,' I grumbled mentally. "Silver fox, you everto." 'Jeez. Screw lovers. MATES, MATES I SAY!' (Demon.) After everyone had calmed down...or at least appeared to...we leaned back against the wall and took a breather.

"What'd you do to Hiei, anyway?" Yusuke asked.

"EGO glacialis him." I replied, then smacked my forehead. "I froze him."

"Froze him?" Kurama raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, but not freezing like you'd think of it." I stretched and pointed at myself. "Unda." I was then drenched and began to cool off. (Water.)

"How'd...?"

I found all four staring. "I might not know how to use a weapon like his sword over there, but I do know a thing or two about spells." I yawned. "What can I say? I'm not part of the Golden Circle, so I wouldn't get weapons training." Before they could question anything, I sneezed, making a face. "Be right back." I got to my feet and scrambled off, ignoring my streaming eyes. 'I probably have a cold is all...' As soon as I washed my face and hands, I wiped my streaming eyes. I never made it back to the training area, as I was entirely too tired.

(No One's P.O.V.)

"Botan, have you seen--" Yusuke began as he entered the room. The others filed in behind him, but then he spotted Haku curled up on a couch.

"She probably shouldn't have sparred; she's exhausted." Botan murmured quietly, pointing at the pale coloring of Haku's face.

"She coulda just said so." Kuwabara mumbled.

"And you guys never would have let her live it down." The pink kimonoed deity returned, leaving the room. The group left the room, although someone did double back and cover Haku with a blanket.

The next morning, all four trooped in to get her for their training only to find her gone. "She is gone forever more. Do not come looking for her or she gets it." Was on the wall, written in what looked like silvery ink. Upon closer inspection, they found that it was blood...Haku's blood. Kurama and Hiei both had to leave the room after that, as the smell was making them gag.

Koenma was informed and began searching. He, however, expressively forbade the four of them from even leaving the palace. Although they could understand why, it did not make them any less pissed. They were not sure of their newest member but to have her kidnapped right from under their noses was an insult to their pride at the very least. A week later found the four more or less sulking in the room she was abducted from. The blood had been cleaned off but some of the smell lingered, which could have been the explanation for the two demons on the team's sour attitudes.

"Guys." All four met Koenma with their eyes, but did not turn around if they did not have to. "We found her." Twenty minutes later they were quietly sneaking through Demon World; there was some sort of force field to prevent the portals from being created too close. As they slipped in through a passageway that they were informed was there and crept down the hallway.

"Julian, I've tried **everything**." A voice grumbled.

"You're too naïve to think of breaking her." The one called Julian returned, his voice silky, cruel and cold. "I'm sure she'd make an excellent addition to our concubines..." A harsh, discordant sound must have been his laughter. Hiei's grip on his katana was causing his knuckles to turn white; the other three looked furious in their own way as well. Before either of the demons in the chamber could blink, they were corpses on the ground, blood drenching the floor. Hiei sheathed his katana and headed into the next room; Kurama followed, silently laughing. He knew full well what had prompted Hiei's sudden, violent reaction. The other two followed as well but much farther away...just in case.

All four entered a room and wished reverently that they had not. It was full to the brim with female skeletons; some were still in the process of decaying and the stench made all four gag violently. They moved on, Hiei setting the corpses ablaze as he left. The next room held still-living demonesses chained to the walls, hanging there limply. None were their teammate, though; Kurama, Kuwabara and Yusuke stayed behind to let them all down.

Hiei entered the next room and nearly gagged. Instead of crimson liquid staining the room and its walls, it was a light silvery color. Ignoring his rebelling stomach, he approached the figure hanging from the walls in chains; blood still dripped from her to pool on the ground. Five seconds later, Hiei resheathed his katana and caught Haku as she fell, freed from her bonds. Her head, which had landed on his shoulder, slowly started to rise but dropped just as quickly and her movement ceased. If not for the gentle breathing in his ear, Hiei would have taken her for dead. The other three met him at the entrance to the hellhole and could only stare at what they assumed was the corpse he carried. Shock was written all over their faces, but they quickly shook it off.

"She's still alive." He ground out. "Now call the damn portal."

"Hiei..." Kurama began.

"She's breathing in my ear, fox!" He snarled.

"KOENMA! PORTAL!" Yusuke shouted into the communication mirror. As soon as they were back in Spirit World, Kira approached them.

"I'll handle it from here, boys." The brunette haired angel took Hiei's burden and headed into the room she had been occupying for her few hours there. Once there, the other girl stripped off her clothes and cast a floating spell on her long time friend. After it was in place, she cast the spell for holy fire and watched as her friend's many injuries healed. Carefully disinfecting and bandaging all the ones even the fire had been unable to heal, she then clothed her friend, broke the floating spell and placed her upon the bed. Figuring it would be a while before she awoke, she went to tell her friend's new teammates that so far, it was good.

(Haku's P.O.V.)

As soon as I realized I was no longer in the safety of the palace, I closed my eyes and tried to think. If I was being kidnapped, which I was fairly sure I was; there was only one thing they would be after. From the way I was being held as well as how my arms were hanging down, I could already tell my magical power was being restrained. Basically put, I was a sitting duck. Closing my eyes again, I drifted slowly into a trance-like state and prayed that I would not die.

The next thing I knew, I heard arguing nearby. Figuring I might as well try to get free, I moved. As soon as I did I felt what a normal fire should feel like on my body. Nearly passing out from the pain, I went slack again as my muscles turned to jello. I'm not sure how much later it was when I caught a waft of charred skeleton and rotting flesh. Bile built up in the back of my throat and I retched repeatedly, somehow managing to no get any on myself. Completely drained, I hung there limply, now silently wishing for death to come as tears pricked my eyes. I hurt more than I had ever in my entire two hundred some years of existence and I could feel more bile coming up.

Surrendering to darkness, I felt the sensation of falling; then I realized that I had landed on something. It was in no way, shape or form the floor but it was blissfully solid and warm. I tried to strain my already aching muscles in an attempt to see what on earth I had landed on only to have my neck muscles give out on me halfway. With a mental sigh my head landed back on whatever it was and I just gave up. Whatever it was, it wasn't hurting me and it was quite warm. This time, when I slid into darkness's embrace, I hoped I would reawaken. I wanted to know who saved me or at least bothered to try to.

My next memory was of floating and feeling most of the pain vanish; I could feel my body relax a bit when I felt a familiar but unidentifiable presence nearby. It came closer and I was jostled a bit; I could feel my cheeks tint, however faintly, when I realized someone was dressing me. Hoping to whatever divine being there was that the person was NOT a guy, I lay there; I was not quite sure my muscles would respond well to movement yet. Whoever it was left the room before I could get a good look at them; my eyelids refused to cooperate and shut on me. Deciding it could wait, I drifted back off to sleep.

(No One's P.O.V.)

Kira walked into the room to find all four, even the forbidden child, looking apprehensive. Kurama was the first one to notice her even in the room; his sudden change in body language alerted the rest. Soon, four pairs of eyes were focused upon the newest occupant in the room. She could see the same question in all their faces, although it was better hidden on some than others.

"No, she was not violated...that being said, the scum who did that had better be dead. If they aren't, I'm going kill them myself." Kira stated flatly.

"No, they're dead." Kurama reassured her.

"Pity." The girl stated, vanishing. The occupants of the room shivered; her eyes and demeanor had been almost intolerably cold right before she vanished. Botan entered a few moments later.

"As glad as I am that Kohaku's okay--"

"Kohaku?" Yusuke interrupted.

"That's her full name. Call her that at the risk of being hurt. Seriously." Botan warned him. "Anyway, you guys should probably rest now. Koenma will come in soon and I don't think he'll...do I really need to say it?" Three of the occupants mumbled a no; the fourth was already gone. The three guys and Botan headed to their rooms; crawling into bed took little effort and dozing off took even less.

(Haku's P.O.V.)

My eyes snapped open and my brain, which I thought had shut down for the night, suddenly rebooted. Dazed and somewhat dizzy, I lay still until my vision stopped swimming in and out of focus. I then slowly shifted so I was more comfortable; I was mentally screeching every curse word I knew. That damnable survival instinct of mine caused me to wake up because someone's gaze was on me. Flicking my eyes over to the window and sneaking quick glances did me no good; there were so many ways to hide one's presence, demon, human or angel. Smothering a frustrated growl, I rolled over, completely forgetting about how sore my muscles should have been.

'If someone's there, I wish they'd just do whatever they came to and GO AWAY!' I groused mentally as I shifted more to get comfortable. The rays of the sun dancing in an odd pattern over my eyelid woke me. I frowned, having sworn that the pattern had been similar to a dance called the "jig". Grumbling profanities, I stumbled out of bed and made it into the bathroom with little effort. Stripping out of my clothes caused me to notice how many injuries I still had left; I scowled, making a face. I pulled my underthings back on before snatching my first aid kit from the room. I had brought almost nothing with me to the palace, but this was one of the few things I had known I would need.

Hissing mentally, I slowly unpeeled one of the bandages, trying not to take any skin with it. I was only partially successful, but I ignored that for now in favor of sewing myself shut. Pondering how weird that sounded, I calmly stuck myself with the threaded needle, wishing I had thought to bring some numbing salve with me. Yup, that's me. I'll think of something I'll need but I won't connect the dots and add something that would go along with it. Trying not to focus on the pain was not helping as I was still the one sewing myself up.

Once I finished the tedious task of firmly sewing all my wounds shut, I gingerly stepped into the shower and got clean. Wishing that my movements would not cause the stitches to pull, I turned off the water and began drying myself off. I was in a clean set of underthings when my door was knocked on. I was about to yell to whoever it was to wait a minute when I heard that door open.

"Vado intereo," I grumbled in annoyance as I yanked a pair of pants on and hissed sharply in pain when I tugged on a few stitches. The door swung open to reveal me in a bra and capris to the entire team. I crossed my arms, ignoring the stitches and gave them my most sickly sweet smile. "So, you wanna die now or later?" Said door shut abruptly and I grinned without humor as I pulled on a t-shirt. As soon as I tried to move, both the t-shirt and pants chafed at my stitches, so I opted for the only other outfit I had in the bathroom. Not quite something I'd normally wear, but it'll work. I stretched, mentally cursed myself for doing so and headed out. (Go die.)

"What's with the outfit change?" Kuwabara was the first to speak.

"Well, sanctus incendia can work wonders as far as wounds go for my kind, but it can't heal everything. Needless to say, I now know how a pillow feels." I grumbled, careful about how I crossed my arms this time. (Holy fire.)

"So the other one kept hurting your stitches." Kuwabara summed it up as the other three avoided my gaze.

"Exactly." I muttered. "Oh, and whoever was outside my window is gonna get it if they show up again tonight."

"Someone was outside your window?!" Kurama and Yusuke both stared.

"Will you relax? I think I can tell the difference between those out to get me and one of you guys!"

"How did you know it was one of us?" Yusuke questioned.

"Because whoever it was--" I fell silent, thinking. "The aura's just familiar...I know it's from one of you guys, but I don't know why I know..." I made a face. "I blame the verto state."

"Verto state?" Kurama raised an eyebrow.

"Trance, verto, same difference." I grumbled.

"Why were you in a trance?" Kuwabara questioned. I frowned as I studied them. Kuwabara was sitting in about the middle of the room, Indian style; Hiei had claimed the windowsill and was glaring out it but was still listening. Yusuke sat against the wall by the foot of my bed; his one leg was stretched out and the other was bent up towards his head; Kurama sat on the floor in front of my bed, his legs stretched straight out in front of him.

'Their positions clearly dictate their natures.' I thought absently. "If someone kidnaps an angel, there's one thing they're after and as dictated by..." I trailed off and turned my gaze to the ground. "Let's just say an angel would rather die than allow the kidnapper to gain the information they seek...besides, those chains bound my power. I couldn't have done anything if I wanted to."

"What?" Growled Hiei; myself and the other three jumped. I guess we all forgot he was there for a moment: I blame his non-talkative-ness.

"I was in a position that dictated movement would not be advisable." I shot back. "Unlike you guys, I don't have raw strength or energy to back me up. I have my wits and whatever else is at hand, particularly if I'm unable to use my power."

"So you're a liability." Hiei stated flatly; I kicked at him. He dodged easily, as I expected, but a scratch opened up across his cheek from my "miss".

"I **dare** you to say that again, asshole! If all your powers were stripped from you and you didn't have brute strength, you would be able to do NOTHING!" I stood in front of him, fists clenched, stance ready. I knew little of fighting beyond how to block and dodge; it was then I decided I was going to hit the books. Theory does wonders but I knew practicing what I was going to learn would be a necessary evil. He took a swipe at me and I automatically lunged backwards; I could feel my silvery blood coursing down my cheek him returning the favor.

"You're pathetic." He snarled back, not even bothering to draw his sword.

"If I'm so fucking pathetic, then how come I managed to make you bleed?" I retorted coldly before leaving the room. Time to find the scrollery...er...library. I sighed; this place was made to get lost in.

About an hour later found me and the bubbly girl in the pink kimono, Botan, reading in the library. Once or twice both of us grabbed our books and ducked down behind some very old scrolls as the others passed.

"Gotta love the scrolls, huh?" I mumbled quietly to her as they went past for the fifth time; she nodded before both of us re-buried ourselves in our books. As soon as we finished reading, we decided to practice on one another. Not the smartest of moves as both of us got hurt by the scrolls...apparently they dislike violence. Mumbling about psycho scrolls, we both tugged on books until the faux bookcase up against the wall spun open. "Huzzah."

"Yeah, let's go." She mumbled softly and we both dove through right as the door opened.

"Their scents are very strong in here." Kurama's voice drifted into our hidey hole.

"Damn fox." I growled softly while Botan sweatdropped. After that, we just kind of formed a club, I guess. We would avoid the boys like the plague unless I had a mission; we were slowly but surely learning how to fight. I kept feeling the eyes on me at night but somehow managed to ignore them. One time, though, I was exhausted when I went to bed, so I was awakened almost instantly when I felt someone's gaze on me. I was too tired to do anything but chuck a rock out the window at someone's general vicinity. After noting the small welt on Hiei's face, I returned to ignoring them again.

Three months passed and we were just about to start our daily session when the four of them walked in on us.

"Double damn." I muttered.

"Amen." Botan mumbled quietly.

"What is WITH you two?!" Yusuke yelled.

"I let you know when I think of a smart ass way to reply." I muttered, thinking; Botan rolled her eyes, amused. "Oh, fuck it."

"Do you really want me--"

"No, you can stop right there." I muttered, trying not to blush.

"But--"

"Yeah. Right back atcha." (2)

"No way in...yeah, well..." Botan settled for making a face at me; I laughed and began the battle. Both of us dodged away from all four and continued practicing. Eventually, I got annoyed and knocked the redheads out. Botan got Yusuke; we both grinned evilly at Hiei.

"Try it and die." He hissed.

"Good luck on that!" I returned as Botan and I chased him all over. By the time the other three awoke, he had turned and begun to chase me, slashing at me. I turned to attempt to catch his sword, I spun around, only to find that he was close behind. Too close. The end result was me on the ground with Hiei on top of me in...yeah. A rather provocative position. Botan laughed her ass off while I squirmed, trying to get out from under the rather heavy demon. "You're squishing me!" I squirmed more; he pinned my arms above my head and kept my body pinned with his. My eyes widened and my face paled when I saw that his eyes were cloudy and the pupils had gone slitted. "GU--MMPH!" He forcefully inserted his tongue into my mouth. Kurama quickly flung Hiei off me; he stood, growling, as his pupils, already slitted, turned white. "What the HELL?!"

"Instincts." Yusuke replied tersely as he and Kuwabara stood between myself and Hiei. Botan was staring at Hiei; I could see she was trembling. I sat up, albeit a bit shakily and felt around with my hand for a rock. Finding one, I picked it up and hurled it at his head. Instead of colliding and bouncing off, it sliced his temple open; on the bright side, though, he was back to normal. He seemed dazed as he put a hand to where the blood was streaming out.

"Vigoratus." I stated, gesturing at him; the cut healed.

"What the hell was that for, idiot?" He hissed at me.

"Shut the fuck up, you prick! You just shoved your tongue down my throat and would've done more if Kurama hadn't gotten you off me!" I seethed back; my eyes were probably glowing.

"Um, Haku...?" Botan broke the silence; I was more than content enough to ignore the now-deathly-pale Hiei.

"Yeah?" I replied, my voice in between thawed and icy.

"Why are your eyes glowing?" That brought everyone's attention to my eyes; I frowned and tried to calm myself.

"It happens whenever I'm mad...considering jackass over there stole my first kiss, I've every reason to be." I growled, glaring at him; so much for my eyes not glowing anymore.

"But..." Botan stared. "I thought all angels like you have mates already."

I almost just blew myself up then and there. I swear that option was just waaaaaay too tempting. As it was, I could tell from the looks I was receiving that my face had closed off, much like Hiei's normally was.

-x-x-x-x-

(1) - I have nothing against gay/bi people. I have plenty of friends who prefer the same sex and I love them to death. In fact, one of my bi friends was the first to read this story and they loved it.

(2) - to explain, Botan was about to imply that Haku would like to "fuck it" ...the "it" being one of the guys. Haku stopped her and then replied that Botan would like to do the same thing to one of the guys as well

Chapter one...is done.

Chapter two...shall be posted sometime soon.

Emma


	2. Part B

Chapter Two...woo.  
Enjoy.

Warnings: Language (lots.), some gorey-ish things (yes and no xD)

"Talking"  
'Thinking'  
(Translations/Point of View changes)  
/Telepathisis/

-x-x-x-x-

"Hiei!" Kurama did not look pleased; neither did the other two, though they remained silent. I noted that his skin color was almost the same shade as marble; had I not been so pissed, I might have felt sorry for him.

"He doesn't have to worry about any homicidal angels, save me." I finally ground out, turning towards the door.

"Huh?" I heard Kuwabara mumble in confusion as I left the stadium. What happened the next time I saw Botan would dictate whether or not I started practicing with a dummy. And, no, that does not mean Kuwabara. He may lack common sense but he seems to be rather good at reading others, though his anger blinds him to it. The same could be said for Yusuke in that respect. Hm...perhaps Koenma is not as ignorant as I thought.

"Mornin'." Botan mumbled sleepily as we met for our dawn training. After the mishap yesterday, we decided to switch up the schedule. Both of us lunged forward to begin but lurched back as Kurama's aura permeated the stadium. From the position we ended up on the floor in, a.k.a. flat on our asses, we glared at him.

"I know both of you are trying to learn how to fight." He spoke calmly; what startled me the most was that he was speaking to us as he might speak to two younger sisters. "If you would be willing to let me help..." He trailed off, his green eyes far more expressive than his face. I exchanged glances with Botan and we both nodded as we stood.

"By the way, Argentum, your face may be closed off but I can read your eyes like a book." I informed him as he approached.

"Argentum?" Both blinked.

"It means silver, although if I decide to keep it as a nickname for you, it's getting shortened to Argen, which still means silver." I returned, smothering a yawn. "Be prepared to learn some Latin if you're gonna spend time with me."

"Actually, I'm taking Latin in school." He murmured.

"School...? Is this another human thing?" I wondered aloud.

"It's where humans go to learn things." Botan supplied.

"Learn? Ooooh, accipio...then ludus! I get it." I replied, sweatdropping.

"Japanese?" Botan requested; I gave them a sheepish smile.

"Accipio is learn and ludus is school." I explained. "What is human school like, anyway?"

"Well, if you ask Koenma, he might let you come to my school." Kurama tentatively suggested.

"Only if Botan comes with me!" Both of us grinned.

"Sounds like a plan...so what do you guys know about fighting?"

"Where and how to hit pressure points to kill the one being hit." I replied.

"As well as some stealth, such as hiding in plain sight." Botan added. Kurama grinned and then fun began.

Three more months passed, during which I got to know both a lot better; I was so busy the offer of going to school was forgotten. One day I walked in early and grumbled at the AIS (artificial intelligence system) to create a log for me to train on. A log with smaller sections sticking out all over to practice upon appeared obligingly. I frowned and started practicing. Long ago I had given up on attempting to heal myself or learn how to summon holy fire, so I now wore lightweight gloves to protect my hands a bit. I failed to notice I had an audience: Kurama, Botan, Kuwabara, Yusuke and even Hiei were watching me. My punches became more and more frustrated, increasing the pain that occurred after striking the log.

"Quare can EGO non operor is?!" I shouted, slamming my fist into the training long one last time. I stopped, breathing quicker than usual to find Botan jumping up and down happily. (Why can't I do this?!)

"YOU DID IT! YOU DID IT!" She shouted, almost tackling me with her hug.

"I did?!" I looked to find that the log had fallen over in pieces. "Well, almost is better than nothing!" I joined her in her jumping up and down happily while Kurama watched, shaking his head. Yusuke, Kuwabara and Hiei watched from above before deciding to join us.

"What were you trying to do?" Our celebrations ceased at Hiei's comment; I sighed. Since the incident with him shoving his tongue down my throat, I had avoided him like the plague...which, in a sense, he was. I severely disliked how my heartbeat reacted to him being nearby. Scowling mentally, I made a face; Botan burst into giggles.

"Oh, shut up." I muttered, crossing my arms and looking away, my cheeks tinged with a light pink. "Or I'll---"

"Truce!" She held her hands up in surrender.

"Ahem. After a few weeks of ripping the Spirit World library apart, we discovered the same energy that goes into casting spells can be used in a manner similar to spirit energy and demon energy. Want a demonstration?" I smirked, hoping the one to step up would be Hiei. To my disappointment, it was Yusuke...oh well. I took my stance and he stood there, bracing himself. I smirked and swung; my fist connected sharply with his jaw. Falling flat on his ass, he glared up at me while holding his jaw.

"Why didn't he go flying?!" Botan asked while Kurama frowned.

"Argen over there's been after me to focus the energy into a central point. I finally figured out how and whatever I connect the central point to gets busted." I grinned before pointing at Yusuke and stating, "vigoratus."

"Thanks." He muttered, rubbing his newly healed jaw.

"Best of all this increases my energy reserves for fighting as well as spell casting, so I'm killing two birds with one stone." I grinned again. "But the mastermind behind the idea is still Argen."

"...huh?" Kuwabara asked as Yusuke gave me a weird look.

"Argen means silver. It's kind of a play off Argen being a "silver fox"." I muttered, shrugging. "Believe me, you do **not** want to hear the nicknames my friend's little sister has for him!"

"Friend's little sister...?" Kurama raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. She's the president of your fan club." I added dryly; he blinked.

"Kurama has a fan club?" Botan mumbled.

"Well, back home he does. Most of the members are girls who've seen footage of the Dark Tournament." I shrugged; Kurama sweatdropped. "You're not safe anywhere as far as fangirls go."

"Why can't they pick someone else to go after?" Kurama grumbled as Yusuke, Botan and Kuwabara laughed.

"I don't talk to people who belong to his club." I stated, gesturing in the short bastard's general vicinity. "And for good reason."

"Why is that?" Kuwabara wanted to know as Hiei narrowed his eyes at me.

"Go fuck the wall, pal." I told him flatly before turning to Kuwabara. "It's because they...do I really have to say it?" I muttered as Botan laughed, getting it; he and Yusuke soon joined in.

"Do either of us want to know?" Kurama inquired flatly; he probably already figured it out. From the look on Hiei's face, I was gonna bet he did too.

"No, probably not." I agreed calmly before doubling up from laughter. "Jeez, why do I not carry around a camera?" Botan and I burst into laughter while all four boys exchanged confused, hostile or curious glances.

"Loooong story." Botan muttered.

"Very long." I concurred.

"Can we have a hint?" Kuwabara asked as the other three rolled their eyes or tuned us out.

"It has to do with a singer named "John Bon Jovi", a camera, a backstage pass and the guy's ass." I smirked as Botan started giggling again; Kuwabara stared at me, as did the other three. (1)

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Yusuke half shouted.

"I didn't say my friends from the A.K. were innocent minded." I replied, snickering. "Angels are almost nothing like what most people think. Prime example: me."

"Because you curse, fight and wear revealing clothes?" Kurama sniped then put a hand over his mouth; Botan and I, meanwhile, were in stitches. Yusuke clapped him on the back while Kuwabara guffawed; Hiei looked rather disgusted with all of us.

"Pretty much." I managed out once I could breathe again. "Lighten up, sour puss." I told the short psycho who was determined to not be associated with us. The next thing I knew, there was a blade at my neck and everyone stopped laughing.

"Give me one good reason." He hissed in my ear as he gave me a light cut with the side of the blade.

I ignored the feeling of my blood trickling down from my cut and merely raised an eyebrow. "Well, I'm still a virgin and I don't act like you." I shot back and managed not to crack up at the looks on all their faces, let alone Hiei's. The sword was pressed tighter and a low growl escaped his lips. I, however, could care less: I could see the changes in his body language from being this close to me. I calmly used the metal strip on my gloves to push the blade harmlessly away; he let me, his eyes dazed and pupils slowly becoming slitted. I lunged back right as he leapt at me: he ended up on the ground with a sharp thunk while I looked down. "What kind of instinct are we talking about, exactly?" (2)

"Tell her and I'll kill you." He hissed at Kurama, back on his feet with his sword in hand.

"Okay, I'll just go look it up in the library." I replied, shrugging; I turned to walk out and he appeared in front of me.

"Don't even think about it, woman!" He snarled; I calmly kneed him before kicking him in the ribs. White and wide eyed, he slid down the wall, his gaze on me.

"I've been training, Mr. Overconfident." I calmly stated. "Now stay out of my way."

"FOX!" I heard him snarl as I walked away.

"I did not instruct her on anything like that." Was his flat reply amidst Yusuke and Kuwabara's laughter. Botan chased after me and soon caught up.

"Why did you do that?" She wanted to know.

"I'm tired of him disrespecting me and implying I'm weak. Just because as far as physical aspects go I'm weak doesn't mean I can't still kick his ass." I grumbled as we entered the library. As I headed to the section where I thought my answer would be, a mental image of Hiei flashed through my mind: it was how he looked when he phased in front of me. I stopped and my eyes widened when I saw that there was desperation in his eyes. I turned and headed towards the exit of the library, deep in thought. They, none of them, had gone to Koenma to find out about my past; what I was going to do now would be a similar breach of trust.

"Kohaku?" Botan popped out from behind a nearby bookshelf.

"Don't call me that." I muttered, sighing as I raised my eyes skyward. "Never mind." I stuck my hands in my pockets. "I'm gonna go train." Leaving wide magenta eyes staring after me, I walked off. As I re-entered the stadium, I absently noted that all four were avoiding my gaze; Hiei had turned around rather than face me. I shrugged mentally before deciding it was time to do a projectile obstacle course. Approaching it, I put the setting on "arrows, darts, kunai and shuriken" before leaping into it. 'Fun time!' I thought, shoving all other concerns to the back of my mind.

I quickly noted that the weapons with a green tinge to them were poison-coated. Most of my time was spent dodging those ones and I failed to notice a regular kunai until it embedded itself in my right shoulder. I kept dodging and once the simulation ended, I leapt out quickly before another could begin. I was trying to figure out how in the seven hells I could deal with this wound that I failed to notice the others were staring.

"Are you alright?" Kurama approached.

"Fine, fine." I muttered, still contemplating.

"It's not a poisoned one, is it?" Kuwabara asked as he approached.

"No, it's not. I'm **trying** to figure out how to..." I trailed off thinking; I caught Hiei moving a bit closer out of the corner of my eye. "That's it!" I quickly tugged it out, careful to avoid damaging my shoulder further and muttered "ignis!" My wound now cauterized, I pulled out a paste Botan and I had concocted for burns and began smearing it on the burn.

"Why in the seven hells did you do that?!" Yusuke shouted at me, storming over; Kuwabara and Kurama were at a loss for words. Hiei stared at me from where he was, unwilling to approach.

"Hm, let's see...stitches are a bitch to deal with, let alone put in with your non-dominant hand and I also have to deal with this, that and the other damned thing if I put in stitches. This is much easier and if I keep applying this ointment, it'll be healed within three days."

"So you'd rather burn yourself?" Yusuke growled.

"As long as I'm not burning your wounds shut, I don't wanna hear it." I grumbled back. I could hear the three of them debating as they began sparring but I tuned them out. Hiei, I noticed, was now nowhere to be found. Shrugging mentally, I kept training; I had trained with far worse than this. The next day found me ignored by everyone on the team but Botan; I was grateful and when I tried to tell her as much, she waved me off.

"They're just being idiots. You and I both know that if it had been Hiei who had burned his wounds shut, there would have been no complaints." She groused.

"I do so love being singled out for how I treat my wounds because I'm a _**girl**_!" I growled, scowling at them as they walked past; they ignored me. "Asswipes."

"C'mon." Botan sighed. Both of us headed to the arena and trained all day. Exhausted, both of us bid one another good night and headed to our rooms, collapsing on our beds and going to sleep. The next morning neither of us even saw the team; we shrugged it off, figuring they were still ignoring us. After two days, we started to get annoyed; although I was glad my shoulder had finished healing. Koenma approached us at the end of the second day; for that day, we decided to forgo training.

"Haku..." He began.

"Look, I know they're pissed--"

"No, they've been captured. I sent them on a mission and they never came back." I froze and paled. "I need you to go and try to free them." I nodded, not sure what I would even be able to do. Glad I had stealth practice, I slipped silently through the forest near what appeared to be a compound. I stopped in the middle of a clearing near it; a sense of helplessness overwhelmed me. Nothing I had learned would help me here. If the four of them couldn't take them, what in the world could have made me think that with my help it would be possible? I sank down on my knees and eyed the ground.

'What kind of captain am I...? I never failed in my angel duties, yet I can't even save four people!?' I closed my eyes, trying to ignore the burning sensation behind them.

(No One's P.O.V.)

They had been hanging there for three days; no chance of escape was in sight. Once, before the barriers had gone up, Hiei had tried to contact Haku.

'God, I feel like crap,' they all heard inside their heads and then there was a sneeze; Hiei froze as the connection shut itself. He could only return their stares, pale with surprise. Gloom overtook them and they all let themselves fall limp on their chains.

(Haku's P.O.V.)

As I shifted, a piece of paper in my pocket crinkled; I opened it to find the song I had written the day before the argument and my eyes widened. Taking a chance, I stood, pressed my hands together in front of me and began to sing softly.

(No One's P.O.V.)

Kurama looked up automatically as he heard someone singing softly in Latin; without thinking, he sang along. He ignored the fact that their cell was flickering around them, as were the chains, and kept signing. The cell was rapidly flickering now, between a forest clearing and itself. The other three stared at Kurama, who continued; he now recognized that voice.

With one final flicker to the cell, their surroundings changed to a clearing in a forest just in time to see Haku fall to the ground. Hiei, who was closest, caught her and could only stare at the grey tinge of her skin. A portal dropped them in Reikai and Haku vanished. All of them looked around hurriedly and couldn't see her. What they did see was a fuming Kira storming towards them.

"THE IDIOT SUMMONED YOU?!" She roared; Kurama slowly nodded, as the other three were not quite sure what she meant. Said seething angel stormed towards her room and they all took a step sideways to block her. Kira leapt over them and stomped into Haku's room. "YOU LITTLE IDIOT! YOU SUMMONED THEM!?" The four stood there, unsure.

A loud slap sounded from the room and they all rushed in to find Kira holding a hand to her red cheek with a furious Haku glaring at her.

"I needed that." The slapped girl admitted. "Still, you SUMMONED them!?" A stiff nod was her reply. "Jeez, you idiot!" Haku opened her mouth to retort but no sound came out; her eyes widened. With a sigh, Kira turned to Kurama. "Can you sing me a verse of the song?" Kurama obliged and Kira nodded. She slowly sang the song and swirls of light green magic that turned into music notes seemed to come from thin air, rising off the four on the opposite side of the room. The notes swirled in the air for most of the song and slowly drifted towards Haku before vanishing once they came in contact with her. Done singing, Kira sighed. "I would recommend not talking for a day or two, though..."

"I know." She replied softly, her voice barely audible; Kira sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

"What I want to know is how that worked...normally song-spells only work when--" Kira broke off abruptly as Haku turned away, crossing her arms. "You...urgh! You do realize what you did, don't you?!" A small nod signaled she did. "Oh well...don't worry about it." Kira turned and began to walk away.

"Easy for you to say." Haku murmured, bringing her knees up and resting her forehead on them.

"The council can't do a thing." Kira stated as the girl on the bed shot up straight in surprise. "Nice to be friends with the princess, ne?" A wink was all she got from her friend's grey eyes before she vanished. A sigh escaped her and she put her forehead on her knees again.

(Haku P.O.V.)

"Dammit." I murmured at barely a whisper as I hugged my knees, no longer caring if the boys thought I was weak. I knew I was weak; I didn't need to be told so. When Koenma entered, I gave up and pulled out my notebook. The words began to flow across the page in my uneven scrawl and I ignored Kurama reading over my shoulder.

"Perhaps the boys should stay with you tonight..." Koenma commented; my eyes narrowed and I finished writing, ignoring the other three boys' looks. I turned the page and scrawled across the next page "No way in HELL am I sleeping in the same room as FOUR boys" before showing it to him; he merely chuckled. "Very well. Kurama shall stay with you, as you know him best." That I agreed to, so I nodded; Kurama nodded as well, probably a bit surprised I would rather have just him in here. Once the other four filed out of the room I tore off the page and handed it to him.

"You want me to read it?" The wary demon asked, pulling up a chair.

I scribbled an "if you want to" across part of the page and began another song. I blamed **him **for the fact that I was having a song-fest. Kurama read it and I could feel the pity in his gaze. "I'm okay" I wrote. "I just need to get my feelings down on paper and I'll be fine" I added as his green eyes flickered with sadness. The sadness increased when he read the finished second song; I sighed softly and gave him a pat on the shoulder before flopping down. I gestured at the window and he was surprised to see that it was set up like a bed.

"Who...?"

I quickly wrote "I like to fall asleep watching the moon sometimes...and I like to be able to see Hiei clearly if I want to chuck things at him for hovering outside my window all fuckin' night." That drew a smile from him, albeit a weak one. We chatted a bit...well, he talked and I wrote my reply. Soon, though, both of us tired and he moved to the window. Slowly but surely, we drifted off to sleep. My dreams haunted me come morning and Kurama was rather subdued as well.

"Hey, Kurama." I murmured softly, my voice barely audible in my own ears.

"Yeah?" He questioned quietly.

"Did you...did you have a dream..."

"With Hiei killing me..."

"While I watched?" We stared at one another. "Would he do that?" Kurama's eyes widened slightly at my question. "I know he could." Both of us stood; I had to lean on him for support as we made our way down to the courtyard below. My eyes widened when I saw a flushed Hiei sprawled on the ground, looking like he had fallen from the tree. Kurama helped me over and I, as calmly as I could, murmured "vigoratus." I clenched my teeth as I heard one or more of his bones snap back into place. His eyes snapped open but the flush on his cheeks never faded. "Hiei?" He said nothing and stood, swaying drunkenly. When he fell, I caught him but tumbled backwards; Kurama caught both of us and helped me stand. Hiei shivered in my arms but made no sound of complaint as we both carried him inside.

My room was the closest, so we headed in there and Kurama, with some minor assistance from moi, placed him on the bed. The shiver wracked Jaganshi moved closer, curling up almost on the edge of the bed. I pulled a chair nearby over and tugged at the blanket until it covered him completely. Kurama left the room to do what he needed to, so I sat there with the still-trembling Jaganshi and murmured assurances in a low, comforting tone. That didn't work, so I started to sing softly, hoping it would comfort him. I failed to notice Hiei's eyes slowly flicker open and rest on my face as I sang softly, hoping it would comfort him. When I looked down, I started slightly.

"You alright?" I asked softly, my voice wobbling a bit because I strained it to sing.

"You shouldn't have sung." He replied quietly before coughs wracked his frame. I hurriedly commanded some water to appear and became frustrated when it didn't. Growling profanities I didn't think I knew, I flung myself into the bathroom with unsteady, shaky steps. Colliding sharply with the ground, I hissed a few more profanities as I got a cup and filled it with water from the tap. The surprise in his eyes when he saw the cup of water held out to him almost made me giggle, but I abstained. My eyes widened slightly when he struggled to sit up, so I slipped an arm around him and gently supported him. His breath came in soft pants as he rested against me, trying to catch it. I helped him take a few drinks of water to soothe his throat; he nodded his thanks. As I helped him lay back down, I was startled and slightly scared to see that his eyes were dull.

A week passed, during which Hiei never seemed to get any better. He tried to prove that he was by sitting up, walking around and doing other menial things; Kurama nodded like he believed him...I didn't. Koenma's footsteps were approaching; I frowned. All five of us were in my room as no one thought Hiei should be moved. Yusuke and Kuwabara were huddled around a magazine I was sure was porn; Kurama sat in front of my bookcase, no doubt reading one of the many books that lined the shelves. Hiei was sulking on the bed, not that he would call it sulking. He was annoyed because all four of us refused to let him off the bed, let alone out of our sights to train.

Said demigod burst in, panting and out of breath, startling the other four occupants of my room. I was going to ignore that in favor of the feeling of dread that had just settled in the pit of my stomach. I was almost completely better and could use spells, but I was wary of trying.

"The Orb of the Elements has been stolen!" He managed out; I exchanged glances with Kuwabara and Yusuke.

"And that means what, exactly?" I questioned, raising my eyebrow.

"Every being that has power from an element can be bent to the will of whoever possesses it." Hiei's voice cut through the thick silence coldly.

"That sucks..." Kuwabara muttered as Yusuke hopped to his feet; Kuwabara followed suit. I copied them, stretching the kinks out of my spine and sighed; Kurama stood as well.

"Alright--"

"I'm coming." Hiei growled flatly, standing and joining our huddle-ish formation. My eyes narrowed and I moved to stop him but was prevented from doing so by Kurama.

"Teres. Vado intereo pro totus EGO tutela!" I growled out, crossing my arms. (Fine. Go die for all I care!)

"What did you say?" Kurama raised an eyebrow, not sure he translated right; I narrowed my eyes at him and they began to pulse, which was a step below glowing.

"Anyway." Koenma called us back to order. "Understandably, we need to get this back. The problem is we don't know who stole it." He looked to me.

"Quis?" I snarled; I was reduced to speaking in Latin due to my anger.

"She said "what"." Kurama clarified.

"Can't you use a spell of some sort to find out who did this?"

"EGO sum a mage non a deprehensio!" I hissed, annoyed further by the fact that he was trying to use my spells to solve a problem, never mind that it was a rather large one.

"What...?" Koenma turned to Kurama, who shrugged.

"I SAID I'm a mage, not a detective!" I tried to calm down, knowing that soon my powers would react to my anger and attack the ones responsible for pissing me off: Hiei, Koenma and Kurama.

"Well, we're fresh out of leads." Koenma mumbled. "Looks like whoever did this has some sort of grudge against demons."

'Or maybe they just wanted some kicks.' I grumbled mentally, not really giving a shit if Hiei was listening; judging from the look on his face, I'd say he was.

"You refuse to take this seriously?" Hiei growled, rage darkening his countenance considerably.

"What of it? Demons are of no concern to me." I stated flatly. "If they're not in my jurisdiction, I am not responsible for them. Seeing as** I'm** not even in my jurisdiction, I have nothing to worry about." I calmly swept from the room, leaving a fuming Hiei and a saddened Kurama. Yusuke also looked visibly pissed but Kuwabara just shook his head.

"Liar." He stated; I hurried away rather than be forced to reply.

(No One's P.O.V.)

"What d'you mean 'liar'?" Yusuke grumbled. "It's kinda obvious she could care less."

"Her body language didn't match her voice or what she was saying." Kuwabara replied simply as they all stared. "Hey! I can be observant once in a while!"

"Then why would she say that?" Kurama questioned.

Kuwabara shrugged. "Maybe she knows something we don't."

(Haku's P.O.V.)

I frowned as I finished scanning the scroll on the "Orb of the Elements". So far I had found absolutely no way to break it or at least get it away from the user. Frowning, I sighed and leaned against the bookcase. I felt a consoling feeling rising off almost every scroll in the library and grinned weakly.

"Gratias ago vos." I murmured quietly to the scrolls; the feeling slowly vanished but a bit of it lingered in the back of my mind and I had to grin weakly again. Sighing mentally, I left the sanctuary that was the library and headed off to find the team. I knew they would be mad, hurt, upset or a combination of all three but it had to be done. I had a feeling I knew who was behind all this and I wasn't getting them caught in the crossfire.

"Ah, there you are." Koenma commented. "Portal!" I stepped in before the others, not caring to look at the expressions on their faces and mentally braced myself only to find that we were falling from mid-air. Kurama had a plant whose leaves he was using to glide down; Yusuke and Kuwabara had latched onto him and didn't seem keen on letting go until they reached the ground. Hiei, however, was still in free fall, as was I. Kurama reached for me but I coldly turned away and closed my eyes. This was going to hurt like hell but...it, too, needed to be done.

"Eximo!" I shouted and my wings punctured the muscle surrounding them to force their way out. Adjusting my flight carefully, I slowly, lazily, circled a few times, loosing altitude without straining or breaking my dark green feathered wings. Hiei, however, was still falling. All our eyes widened as we realized he was unconscious. 'He'll break his neck!' Forgetting that I was supposed to be acting like I hated them, I furled my wings and dropped, plummeting after him. I realized a moment too late that the maneuver I needed to pull off in order not to kill us both would probably break or at least severely overtax my wings. 'Dammit!' (Release.)

I continued dropping and caught up with Hiei; slipping my arms around him securely, I shifted position in the air so I was facing the ground horizontally as opposed to vertically. That slowed my descent and his just enough that by the time we were within ten feet of the ground, I knew I could pull this off.

"Eximo!" I called again and my wings unfurled; I pulled us out of our dive but my toes skimmed the grass as I glided to where I could land. As soon as my feet touched the ground, I dropped Hiei and furled my wings again.

"What the hell did you do that for?!" Kuwabara yelled as he, Yusuke and Kurama approached; the other two didn't look very pleased either.

"Had I let him collide I would have wasted energy healing him." I stated coldly and began walking towards the direction my pocket was telling me to. I knew Koenma was going to kill me when he found out that I swiped the scroll on the Orb but it was the only thing capable of leading me to its location. As spell can't be used to track a magical object but this scroll was the exception. I saw a black figure flicker past me out of the corner of my eye and figured Hiei must have woken.

Soon enough, we ran into the figure. He was cloaked in black, much like Hiei, but his face was covered. He held the Orb in plain sight but I could tell he was wary of us; I frowned.

"Greetings, little one." The figure hissed inside our heads; I involuntarily took a step back. "Allow me the pleasure of ridding the world of these pathetic creatures...and then I shall attend to you..." I shivered mentally before vowing this thing, whatever it---he---was, was going down. "First element on the list...fire." Hiei, who was already ill, went deathly pale and collapsed as a red-colored substance began to leak out of him.

"Elementum Alica!" I shrieked as the scroll began to heat up in my pocket; the Orb shattered and the figure froze.

"YOU!" It hissed inside all our heads; Hiei, though unconscious, writhed in pain.

"Me?" I asked calmly, smirking calmly. "I am no ordinary angel, fool. A demon's life...**any **demon's life...is valuable to me. Attempt to take any lives and I will rip out your innards, string you up by them and then force you to eat your reproductive organs." I seethed, my power turning the area around me a forest green while the three conscious members stared at me.

-x-x-x-x-

(1) - hehehe. my friends and their parents are crazy. let's leave it at that.

(2) - I don't really remember why that was supposed to be funny...:sweatdrop: ...ah, right.  
Haku: lighten up  
Hiei: give me one good reason  
Haku: I'm a virgin and I don't act like you  
...thus implying that Hiei's a sour puss because he's never gotten any. :animefall:

Emma


	3. Part C

Chapter Three. Yippee.

Warnings: Language (lots.), some gorey-ish things (yes and no xD)

"Talking"  
'Thinking'  
(Translations/Point of View changes)  
/Telepathisis/

-x-x-x-x-

"I'll be back." The not-voice hissed and the figure faded into black smoke before vanishing.

"What...?" Kurama stared at me; I had my teeth, two of which were now fangs, bared and my wings were now out despite not being called. (1)

"I was attempting to fool them into thinking I wished to be apart of their plans, as they are obviously a angel." I growled at last, calling my power back to me as I tried to furl my wings. I uttered a soft curse as my wings refused to furl and bit back a scream as I realized they could not be furled because the skin around their emergence points was so badly damaged. Kurama approached and he went pale upon seeing my back; I then assumed Kira would be there when we returned to Spirit World.

"An angel." A voice hissed.

"Snake demons." I muttered.

"Let's go!" Yusuke shouted as they began to surround the clearing. I unthinkingly scooped Hiei up and took off using my wings, wincing as they tore at the already damaged skin. Yusuke, Kurama and Kuwabara followed on foot, having gotten out through the last clear path. I focused on dodging the arrows and other projectiles being fired at me; finally, I was I out of range. Hiei had pressed himself against me for warmth; he continued to shiver as he buried his face in my shoulder-neck junction. As soon as I heard soft mumbling, I knew he was probably delirious but that didn't prepare me for his fangs sinking into my shoulder-neck junction and drawing blood. I hissed and flapped harder, **_really_** hoping Kira would be there, as Hiei had just inadvertently given me a mating mark.

When my flight path was jarred slightly by the wind, Hiei awoke and raised his head, blinking blearily at me. My silvery blood was smeared all over his lips but he didn't seem to notice as he rested his head on my shoulder near the mark. As shiver that had nothing to do with the cold ran down my spine as he began to lick it, cleaning up the blood. His lips began to trail up the side of my throat; I gently tapped his shoulder and knocked him out using a pressure point. The five of us tumbled through the portal to meet an anxious looking Koenma, accompanied by a severely annoyed Kira.

"Come with me." The grey eyed girl hissed as I carefully handed Hiei to Kurama and followed her. "Look at this." She spun me around to face a mirror and the mark Hiei had given me was glowing...glowing red.

"B-but..." I gaped at it, almost unable to comprehend what it meant.

"This means I can't get rid of it." Kira sighed as she used her holy fire to heal the skin around my wings. "You ought to use these a bit more often..." She commented absently as she watched the flesh close and heal.

"I know." I murmured quietly.

"You should probably wait until nighttime to put your wings away." Kira observed as she tested the muscle; I winced.

"Watch the poking." I griped as I slipped into a shirt made for when I had my wings out. It also covered my now-permanent mark that I hoped Hiei would never find out about. If he did...wait, red means love! I peered under my collar to see it still flickering between red and healed; I shivered and let my collar fall back into place before following Kira back to the room. Hiei had been placed in the infirmary and he was currently strapped to the bed. Even while unconscious, he fought the bonds, struggling wildly; my eyes widened and I found no one was able to look at him. I bit my lip before walking over and unbuckling the belts; the doctor began to reprimand me, but I spun around. My fangs reappeared as my eyes began to pulse. "You wanna repeat that?" I hissed as Hiei slowly relaxed and stopped thrashing around.

"Get out." Koenma ordered and followed the doctor. Kira, Kurama, Kuwabara and even Yusuke did as well. Confused beyond belief, I turned back to face Hiei and was surprised to see dull red eyes watching my every move.

"Hiei?" I asked softly, cautiously approaching; his eyes slowly slid closed and he turned towards me before drifting off again. Hesitantly, I reached out a hand to fix the sheets and nearly shrieked when his hand clenched my wrist.

"Woman?" He growled, his eyes clearer.

"I was fixing the sheet." I snapped in annoyance and shook him off. "I'm going to suppose you missed the speech but---"

"I heard." He stated flatly as I froze in the act of turning away. "Saving face doesn't suit you." I completely turned around, ignoring the tears now building up behind my eyes.

It was then I felt my power completely drain; tugging on my shirt near the mark, I found a white spiral that signified sealing. I paled considerably as I realized someone had just sealed away all my power. I was completely defenseless...as I was about to break down and give up, I remembered the "good doctor". Narrowing my eyes, I stormed out and to where the others were surrounding the doctor.

"Ungrateful bastard." I mumbled in annoyance, dismissing Hiei from my thoughts and my life for the time being. I stormed past the doctor, making sure I grabbed hold of his collar as I passed. "I'll deal with him." My smile as I turned to face them was probably the most venomous one to date. I smirked, enjoying the sense of fear rolling off my captive in waves. I needed something to distract me and this would do nicely. Very nicely.

(No One's P.O.V.)

Slightly perturbed, the group re-entered Hiei's hospital room.

"What exactly did you do to her?" Kira inquired, her face cold and her grey eyes conveying her ruthlessness.

"I did nothing to the--"

/Liar.../ Hissed a voice; everyone spun to see a large black panther with green eyes standing in the shadows of a corner of the room. Its tail twitched madly and its large fangs were bared in a silent snarl; it only seemed to have eyes for Hiei and those eyes held hatred beyond words. /You ought to die for what you've done to my mistress.../ It snarled angrily, it's tail twitching all the more.

"Well, actually..." Kira frowned and crossed her arms. "That, I'm going to assume, was an error on his part...at least, it had better have been."

/My mistress will suffer greatly because of what you have done, beast./ It seethed, its eyes venomous and cold. /I will forever haunt you should she come to grief because of you...and she most likely shall. Prepare for a worse existence than even you have known.../ It then stalked out of the room, intent on finding it's mistress.

"Considering I've met Somni before and she's never acted like this, I'm going to assume you've done something other than what I know of." Kira commented blandly. "For your sake and that of the treaty, you had best hope nothing happens to her." The severely annoyed female angel vanished into thin air, leaving but a wisp of smoke behind to mark her passage.(2)

"What did you do?" Kuwabara finally asked, disturbed by the feelings he got from the panther.

"I did nothing, idiot!" Hiei snarled angrily before blacking out.

Kurama sighed. "Perhaps it would be best for us to leave for now." He hinted; both boys gave him sullen looks before reluctantly complying as Hiei began to stir. Both he and Koenma left as well; Hiei regained consciousness as the door closed. His unreadable red eyes focused on the door and somewhere, a part of his mind wondered what he did do to Haku. The fire demon drifted back off to sleep, plagued by dreams; all included Haku dying in some way. He watched, did nothing or was the one killing her. A restful night's sleep was not what he ended up having.

(Haku's P.O.V.)

I yawned and stretched quietly, noting I was on the "bed" that was made out of the windowsill. I guess I had been expecting Hiei to be outside my window again and I don't think I've ever wanted to throw something at him as much as I do now. I sat there, unmoving as yesterday's events slowly trickled back to my sleep-clogged brain. I hugged my knees to my chest and let the tears rain down, knowing that my life was now severely screwed up. Not only was I powerless but I was now going to be a prime target for attacks as the other demons would be able to tell that Hiei marked me. I hoped Hiei wouldn't find out unless I wanted him to. I leaned against the wall, still hugging my knees and wondered how long it would take Kurama to figure out what had happened; I could gauge fairly accurately by how long it had taken him to pick up the meaning of certain Latin phrases I used often but ambiguously. Great...I had about a week before he found out. I knew I couldn't ask him to keep a secret from Hiei...but I couldn't let him tell him either.

'This sucks.' I decided and curled up a bit tighter as I took a calming breath. It would probably take Hiei a bit to get better and as long as he wasn't around, hints about the mark couldn't be revealed. I sighed as I tried to think of something, anything, that would make this seem better but I came up with nothing. It was then I noticed another occupant of the bed-sill. "Somni?!"

/Greetings, mistress./ My guardian replied without even opening an eye. I sighed and stretched out so my legs were beside her.

"I guess you know..." I muttered.

/Indeed...I wish it were possible to eliminate that...thing./ She snarled softly. I merely sighed and looked out the window, trying not to focus on anything in particular as I watched the sunlight and leaves draw patterns on the ground of the courtyard below.

'At least things'll be interesting when Hiei gets better.' I thought as I sighed again and got up. Getting dressed was a chore but I did it anyway. The days passed in a boring, repetitive fashion. I would have breakfast, train incessantly using physical means, stretch my wings and hit the library to try to find a way to remove the spell. So far I had had no luck as far as the spell search went when Hiei rejoined our ranks; every time he entered a room, I left it. I decided I wasn't going to chance Kurama figuring it out. Botan joined my vigils in the library and practiced alongside me as well, not commenting on why I wasn't using my energy to practice breaking the earth.

"Guys?" Kurama was in the doorway, flanked by Hiei, Yusuke and Kuwabara, respectively. I ignored them in favor of throwing a flurry of punches at the punching bag, and then blocked it as it swung back at me; Botan stopped obligingly and turned to face them.

"We're practicing is all." Botan replied before returning to the obstacle courses.

"Haku?" Kurama asked quietly as he approached; I waited for the other three to follow. When they did, I leaped on top of the pole holding up the punching bag and then into an obstacle course, effectively jump starting it. "Haku?" I ignored them again, finishing the course.

"Talk to you later." I nodded to Botan; she nodded back as I headed out, keen on getting cleaned up.

My charade of leaving the room Hiei entered had lasted for three months and I bet Kurama was getting concerned. Hiei had followed me and I walked out of the bathroom in only a towel to freeze at the sight of the fire demon sitting on my windowsill. Without even pausing, I spun around and fled back into the bathroom, hastily pulling on clothes as I went. The second time I left, fully clothed, the entire team, including Koenma and Botan, was there. "Last I checked, we weren't the girl scouts." I calmly crossed my arms and faced them all, ready for a confrontation. If they weren't planning on one, I'd make one. It was easier to stay focused when I was mad than when they were being so nice. Botan hesitated but stayed on "their" side; I shrugged.

"We want to know why you've been avoiding us." Kurama stated as I opened my mouth to deny it, then stopped.

'I was only avoiding Hiei...but Hiei's been around all of them since he got better! This could definitely work to my advantage...' "'Cuz I feel like it."

"You haven't been using your power or practicing with it." Botan accused; I scowled.

'Traitor.' "What of it?"

"We're your friends." Yusuke growled. "We're supposed to help you!"

"We can't if you won't tell us what's wrong." Kuwabara added, trying to diffuse the accusing atmosphere. I, however, was an expert at turning the tables due to years of worming my way out of being picked on just because I was different. Finally, it was time to put my skills to good use. I smirked and calculated about ten different ways to escalate the situation to the point where I or someone else would storm away. It was time to show them the side of myself I rarely used. As I was about to open my mouth, though, Somni walked in; I blinked, completely perplexed by her sudden appearance.

/Are you half wits quite finished harassing my mistress? She has enough troubles caused by that.../ Her lip curled and I winced mentally as a low growl emitted from her as she bared her very large canines. /...thing./ Her icy green eyes connected with Hiei's red ones but I made no move to interfere. I knew this was going to get messy very quickly now, though.

"I am not a thing." Hiei hissed as he drew his blade.

/Kill me if you wish...but my mistress dies when I do and vice versa, bastard./ Somni purred in her sadistic glee. Hiei looked ready to kill her anyway and that just solidified my decision; a moment passed and he sheathed his sword without prompting, surprising me. /Huh.../

"What're you planning NOW, Somni?"

/Ah, mistress, it would not be as much fun if I were to tell you, now would it?/ I received her version of a smile.

"Try anything and you'll regret it." I stated flatly, my voice taking on a slightly colder tone. I was in no mood to deal with any Somni-related disasters.

"If you kill her, you die." Kurama commented.

"Your point is...?" I asked, raising an eyebrow; I was slightly confused by everyone's sudden paling. "Oh, that's right. I never told you that little bit about angel society, did I?"

"What little bit...?" Yusuke prodded cautiously while Kuwabara muttered something.

"When you're a part of or close to the Golden Circle, your mate is chosen for you. If you lose your mate due to one circumstance or another, then your family abandons you." I shrugged.

"You lost your mate...?" Kurama questioned quietly as the others had all gone pale with shock; he then noted how haunted Somni's eyes looked.

"My mate-to-be died. That still counts, as angels are only assigned one mate." I calmly turned and leaped out the window; my wings still worked without my magic. Sure enough, there they were; I let the thermals carry me off and away from the ones I wanted to be free of. A few moments later as I followed the long curtain wall, I noticed a black blur following me and I smiled. "Come along for the journey, Somni?"

/Of course./ My faithful companion replied.

"Does flying to the end of this curtain wall, doubling back, then flying to the end of the opposite one sound good to you?"

/Exercise is always welcome./ Somni grinned, baring fangs, but this time in a friendly way. Don't ask me HOW it was friendly...it just was. I could tell, somehow, by the feelings that came off her. We continued our traversing, reaching the opposite end of the curtain wall as night descended. Boredly, we both curled up to keep warm and drifted off, deciding to wait until morning to continue our trek. Morning arrived swiftly and we both started off, glad to have something to do, even if it was rather dull as far as scenery went.

Surprised I was not waylaid by "well meaning" people, I continued, enjoying the silence that shrouded us as we traveled. I loved traveling like this, just Somni and me...it was what I had grown accustomed to until I started training to be on the border patrol. Then Somni wasn't allowed to come at all, which was disorienting for me at first. Still, I missed the feeling of it being just her and I, traveling to whatever destination we chose. We used to sneak out of the angel kingdom and wander around Demon World, not that anyone knew that. It's probably why I enjoy being there, unlike most other angels. I almost feel at home there sometimes, which is weird all things considering.

/So, mistress.../

"Yeah?" I answered automatically as I blinked, realizing I could speak in Latin if I so chose.

/Why do...why do you not wish death upon that.../

"Everto?" I finished calmly as I continued, laughing from sheer exhilaration as the wind roared behind me, causing me to pick up speed and adrenaline to rush through my veins. Somni let out a full throated roar that sounded in accompaniment with my laughter and the wind's own roar. (Demon.)

/Yes./ She finished as the wind died down and the sweet, thrilling rush of adrenaline stopped pouring through my system.

"Because..." I murmured, my lips twisting into a semi-serene smile.

/You are a fool./ Somni barked coldly.

"You say that...but that's because you are the embodiment of my scars, even the ones I cannot feel or remember any longer." I sighed softly and lifted my eyes skyward, marveling silently at how the clouds looked so similar and yet so different from the realm I usually called home.

/Be that as it may, no good will come of this venture, mistress./ Somni admonished in her serious, dark way. I raised my eyes skyward again, closing them without a word as sunlight poured into them. I just flew like that for a moment, feeling the sunshine warm me and the wind softly whispering secrets in my ear, even as it flowed past, through the feathers of my wings. I slowly opened my eyes and felt the most serene I have since I lost Kiyoshi.

"Quis adveho, adveho." I replied quietly as I glanced back towards the Gates of Judgment fading into the distance behind me. (What comes, comes.)

/I do not understand, mistress./ The great cat's voice sounded tired and slightly unsure, which was a first.

"Is est a mystery." I furled my wings slightly and dropped a bit, just to feel the thrill of falling. I unfurled them again to rise up to where I had been flying. "Ut est vita. Ut est diligo. Is est ut quod nos totus admiratio, expertus quod tendo. Ut est quis vita quod diligo es utriusque super." (It is a mystery. That is life. That is love. It is that which we all wonder, test and try. That is what life and love are both about.)

/It sounds rather...iffy./ She replied at last, after a long silence as we churned out mile after mile.

"That's what makes it it." I did a small loop, just to see if I still could. Smiling the smile that comes with achievement, no matter how small, I rebuilt up my speed so it was even with hers again.

/I still do not understand./ She sighed quietly. /But I suppose I never shall.../

"You will. One day yet, you will." I stretched out my arms, testing my muscles. "Now, are we gonna go fast or what?!" A cat grin was all I received as she sped up. Whooping in exhilaration, I followed, content to put my past and all that was going on behind me, at least for now. What I did not know was that the entire team had been watching our exchanges from Koenma's monitor, though I doubted at the time that I would have cared.

At nightfall we reached the other end of the curtain wall and made our "camp". Tomorrow, I decided, we would go back and face the mess I had created; reentering Demon World would have been much more fun but I have a duty. The sad part is that at this rate, I think the only thing keeping me from deserting into said place is that Kira, Kaede and Kai would all be very upset...not to mention what Kiyoshi's reaction would be, were he still alive. I sighed mentally and curled up, pushing all the thoughts that were crowding my mind to the side before drifting off into a blissfully empty sleep. Not dreaming was probably one of the best things that could have happened. We rose at sunrise and flew back to the Gates, reaching them at about "lunch time"...by the position of the sun, anyway. It was never entirely accurate as far as Spirit World went but I had no clock, so I made due.

I reentered, Somni on my heels and was gripped by a sudden rush of emotion when I saw Hiei. I felt like I wanted to rush over and embrace him and I stiffened, glad Somni had the sense to knock me forward into a wall. Wincing as I collided, I slid down, giving myself some time to recollect my thoughts that were currently in swirls of chaos.

"Gratias ago vos." I whispered as silently as I could; the others stared at me as I got to my feet.

/You're bleeding./ She commented blandly as I watched Hiei and Kurama suppress the urge to retch. I blinked mentally before pulling out a gauze pad and taping it over the cut in an attempt to stem the blood. /I'll go get Kira.../ With a twitch of her tail, Somni vanished.

"What was that all about?" Kurama questioned; I wasn't entirely surprised to find the iciness from our initial meeting was back.

"Angels are very prone to brain damage if their heads are struck and they bleed." I shrugged. "A.k.a. I might get memory loss from that...damn, that'd suck." I groaned mentally and clapped a hand over my face. That would just...URGH! I would ask for a transfer...well, I'd get Somni to at least, seeing as I'd probably be too busy...ARGH! NO! It wasn't until Yusuke grabbed my ponytail that I realized I was hitting my head on the wall, repeatedly.

"Are you TRYING to give yourself memory loss?!" He yelled.

"No...but it wouldn't hurt." I muttered as Somni reappeared with Kira in tow.

"No, it wouldn't." Kira agreed. "But remembering would." She calmly used a concentrated form of her holy fire to heal the wound and any damage it or my non-intentional freak out caused.

"And why wouldn't it?" Botan still sounded the same, thank Ra.

"Because---GAH!" I covered my mouth with my hand and glared at her as Somni smirked and Kira laughed. "This sucks."

"Most things do." Kira replied in an undertone before vanishing.

"PERVERT!" I yelled, hoping she heard me somehow; Somni shook her head before vanishing into the doorway that led to my room.

"You have a mission." Koenma commented. "We need to gather together the pieces of the Orb so someone else, namely our foe, won't be able to do so."

"Or Hiei and Kurama die?" I chose not to beat around the bush; I had neither the time nor the patience.

"In plain English...yes." Koenma murmured; they all seemed slightly surprised when I made no smart comment. I scowled and crossed my arms.

"I don't joke about death." I ground out, my eyes beginning to pulse even as I focused on calming down. Assholes.

"Why? Too serious a subject for your puny mind to comprehend?" Hiei growled; the next thing anyone, including myself knew, I had him by the back of the neck and slammed him, face first, into a wall.

"_**I do not joke about death, bastard.**_" I hissed as my eyes began to outshine the lights in the hallway; I reluctantly released him and fought not to slam him into the wall again even as I registered how good that felt. When I finally noticed the wide-eyed stared focused on me, I spun on my heel and stormed into my room, still seething.

/Calm down or you'll go blind./ Somni reminded me; I snarled curses in every language I knew before attempting to meditate to clear my mind. All that kept running through it was how good it felt to not hold everything inside and how refreshing it was to not give a damn; how I wished I could march back out there and keep slamming the source of my main frustration into the wall repeatedly. /I'm not kidding./

"I know." I growled, trying to keep my tone calm if not civil; I had no desire to lose my only companion who had stuck with me through thick and thin. I did not know it but her gaze softened as she registered my thought.

/I would never abandon you, mistress./ She murmured, rubbing her head against my knee in a manner reminiscent of a house cat. I absently scratched her ear before hugging her tightly, allowing the tears to prick my eyes and stream down my cheeks as I buried my face in her thick, warm coat. I loved how she always knew how I was feeling and was able to help, no matter what. I felt the tears come faster as I remembered the only other one who had known just what to do.

"Kiyoshi." I murmured softly into her coat as I clung tighter, trying not to give in completely to my past and my pain. I felt the door open and someone enter but I didn't know nor care who it was.

"Haku?" It was Kurama; I could tell by the voice and then the footsteps.

"What?" I growled, reluctant to face him at all, let alone sniveling like a pathetic child.

"Why won't you trust us?"

"Because..." I replied quietly, all the anger gone from my voice. "The last time I did that, I lost my world. I still haven't recovered and it's been over a century."

"A sorrow shared is a sorrow halved." He returned, taking a seat by me but not close enough to touch me. I twined my fingers softly around her thick coat, glad she made no complaints, though I knew she hated it. "Haku, all of us want to be here for you. You've been with us for almost 10 months."

"So?" I shot back. "Once the council decides it's time for me to come back, I'm gone."

"Actually..." Kurama began hesitantly. "Actually, we all agreed that we would rather have you stay on permanently...if the council would allow it and if you wanted to..." I stopped squeezing Somni like I was going to crush the life out of her but did not reply. My mind was too busy trying to figure out how all this fit. "Hiei is rather easily annoyed and doesn't think about what he says..."

"I know." I mumbled quietly. "I know..."

"What he insinuated set you off?" Kurama probed cautiously, wanting answers but obviously not at the cost of upsetting me more. I blinked, ignoring the feeling of the last tear making its way down my cheek. Since when did he even care?

"It did more than set me off." I corrected. "I haven't been angry enough to blind myself since...then."

"What?!" I could tell by his sudden movement that he was most likely shocked.

"If I get too angry and my eyes glow too brightly, I'll end up blinding myself." I confided quietly. "Kindly don't tell him. I'd rather like to enjoy my ability to see while it remains."

"He wouldn't do it on purpose." The sentence flew from Kurama's lips and it appeared it surprised him too. "I just...he wouldn't. I can't say how I know..."

"I've learned not to trust others, Kurama...it'll be a while before I'm ready to trust...really trust...anyone. Every time I trust someone, they die."

"Are you saying you'd rather live your life alone than trust others?" I looked up, conscious of what I must look like, to find sad green eyes focused on me as I nodded slightly. He came closer; my mind screamed at me to stop him, move away; anything but I just sat there and allowed him to hug me as an older brother might their younger sister. After a few moments, I returned the hug shyly and cautiously, not really knowing what to expect. "That wasn't so hard, was it?" He pulled back, looking me in the eye. I shrugged but both he and I knew I felt a lot better.

/I'm hungry./ Somni demanded, ruining the moment. He and I exchanged looks before laughing.

"Alrighty then." I muttered as both of us stood, shaking our heads. "If you want...later...I'll tell you a bit about what's been going on recently. But only after lights out!"

"Why?" Kurama inquired as we wandered off towards the cafeteria just for spirit detectives.

I smirked as we entered. "Because then it'd be cooler!"

Somni, who was trailing us, sighed in an aggrieved manner. /Now you see what I put up with./ She grumbled to him as we collected what we wanted to munch on; I calmly placed a whole hunk of raw steak in front of Somni. A moment later, when Kurama and I looked up to resume speaking, it was gone.

"I swear she teleports it away." I muttered, looking around for it as she licked her lips contentedly.

"Do all panthers eat like that?" Kurama wanted to know.

/Just me./ Somni slunk off to bug Hiei, no doubt; I sighed.

"If that cat comes back with a sword sticking out of her, at least I'll know whodunit." That drew a weak smile from Kurama, who struck up a casual conversation about how my training had been going. We were discussing which was the best way to punch someone when the others entered, Somni still slinking around after Hiei. "There are less volatile demons you can harass." I told the cat; she smirked. "Go bug them."

/Emma-chan is no fun to bug...besides, her dragon will spit fire at me./ My companion whined as the others stared; Kurama, who I think was becoming used to this, shook his head.

"Did you ever think that might be because you almost bit her tail off?" I commented, raising an eyebrow.

/...no./

"Didn't think so." I grumbled as I finished off my peanut butter bagel sammich.

"Since when do you use suffixes?" Botan inquired as she took a seat beside me.

"I don't. The only reason Somni does in Emma's case is because she's related to Kira." I shrugged and took a sip of my milk.

/Kurra-chan and Ze-kun too./ Somni added from under the table; Botan squeaked and moved when Somni's tail brushed against her leg. I rolled my eyes and decided to avoid replying to that by taking another sip of my milk. Before I could get up Yusuke sat down next to me; Kuwabara sat across from him and next to Kurama. Hiei declined sitting and stood behind me, probably trying to prevent me from "escaping" or to make me nervous. Either way, my friend under the table was annoyed and lunged at him, snarling, before colliding with his legs and knock him down. Her paw, claws unsheathed, was placed right over his jugular.

"Operor is quod intereo." I hissed; she moved off him immediately and slipped out of the room, the tip of her tail vanishing as Hiei sat up, fingering a scratch left as a reminder.

"What the hell was that?!" Yusuke yelled in my ear; I turned and faced him, ignoring my eyes beginning to pulse.

"For your information, I stopped her." I ground out, trying and probably failing at keeping my cool. Kurama and Botan nodded.

"She taught us Latin." Botan confirmed. "And she told Somni "do it and die"."

"Technically, is would usquam tamen ut est non maximus." I commented, thinking aloud; I then smacked myself as Kurama's eyes basically bugged out. Argen spluttered incoherently for a few moments, during which I laughed at the look on his face; Botan, Yusuke and Kuwabara laughed along with me. (Technically, she would anyway but that is not important.)

"Vos duos es material!?" He half shouted, gaping at me as he finally managed it out. (You two are mates!?)

"Priores quasi. Is fortuitus venalicium mihi ut EGO eram volatilis him tergum ut prodigium. Is subluceo rutilus--" I began but he cut me off. (Um...sort of. He accidentally marked me when I was flying him back to the portal. It glowed red--)

"RUTILUS?!" Kurama looked positively aghast as the others looked back and forth, Botan not having learned enough to know quite what we were saying now.

"Pro angelus ut does non vilis contemno. Is opes diligo quod ut planto vestigium proprius. Ut est quare Kira could non vigoratus is." I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly. (For angels that does not mean hate. It means love and that makes the mark permanent. That is why Kira could not heal it.)

"So that's why you've been avoiding us." He sunk back in his chair as it all began to make sense.

"Yeah, pretty much." I shrugged, downing the rest of my milk.

"Wait...did you say love?" Kurama fixed me with a confused stare.

"Yah." I replied, standing and pushing my chair in. "Again, nos mos chat ut is est lux lucis sicco." (We will chat when it is lights out.) I slipped off hurriedly before anyone decided to question what the hell we were talking about; unbeknownst to me, Hiei slipped inside my room before I closed the door. I sank down upon my bed with a sigh of relief and nearly screamed when Hiei "appeared" right in front of me. I must have still made plenty of noise as the others rushed in while I was still getting over his sudden emergence from nowhere. "JEEZ! What is your malfunction?!"

"Why have you been avoiding us?" Hiei growled flatly; Kurama looked like he wanted to smack himself.

"Because I wanted to." I returned calmly as I leaned back against the wall and sprawled myself comfortably on my bed. "I don't have to answer to you. I have to answer to Kira, the council, the elders and Koenma for whatever actions I take." I was sharply reminded of what he insinuated, thus my reply.

"Woman--" He began, his voice cold.

/Shut the fuck up, bastard./ Seethed Somni as I sighed mentally.

"Somni." I warned, my tone darkening slightly.

/I can be as nasty to the bastard as I want./ Came her annoyed reply.

"Just...back off for a bit, would ya? I don't feel like dying anytime soon..." I grumbled, flopping backwards so I was leaning more against the very solid wall; I would be able to dodge as opposed to being tangled up in my never-made bed.

"Waste of time." Hiei growled.

"Good. Go waste it OUT of my room." I grumbled, feeling rather annoyed, not to mention self-destructive.

/Here we go./ Somni muttered as Kurama frantically motioned at me from behind the others; Botan gave me a pleading look. I guess she figured it out. Damn. The next thing I knew, I had been picked up by my collar and slammed back against the wall; a visibly pissed Hiei, his mouth twisted in a snarl, glared at me. I froze up for a second as I realized his skin could brush mine at any moment. Panicking mentally, I lashed out, catching him in the ribs and causing him to stumble back; I landed with a slight thump on my bed as he regained his balance.

"What the hell was that for?!" He snarled.

"I generally don't run around picking people up by their collars." I managed out, still shaky.

"Okay." Koenma stated, catching everyone's attention, mine included. "Everyone, exempting myself, is to go to the movie room and RELAX."

/Good luck, mistress./ Somni vanished with a twitch of her tail, smirking in only the way she could.

-x-x-x-x-

(1) - when angels get veeeeery angry, they can lose control and "fall"...a.k.a. become a fallen.

(2) - Somnium means dream...Somni is her nickname.

Emma


	4. Part D

Warnings: Language (lots.), some gorey-ish things (yes and no xD)

"Talking"  
'Thinking'  
(Translations/Point of View changes)  
/Telepathisis/

-x-x-x-x-

"Assbag." I muttered, grumbling, as I trailed behind Kurama and Botan; both slowed down obligingly. "Figured it out, huh?" I asked, not realizing the three up "front" were listening.

"Um...yeah. Not that it was blatantly obvious or anything." Botan muttered, looking slightly nervous.

"Well, no offense to Argeney, but it'll be nice to have someone to talk to." I grinned, not all that uptight for once.

"You mean someone without---" (1)

"No Youko-ness. At all." I stated flatly as he smirked, his eyes flickering golden for a moment before returning to their regular green. Botan laughed, probably feeling a bit more at ease now. The three of us trailed the "leaders" and just had a good time like we used to.

"What's with the buddy-buddy bit?" Yusuke questioned as we all took seats wherever we wanted.

"It's a secret club and spirit gun, spirit sword and Jagan wielders aren't allowed." I joked.

"So what do you guys do?" Yusuke persisted.

"We wander around at one in the morning and burn peace symbols on people's front yards." Kurama stated with a solemn face; Botan and I were in stitches as Yusuke made the most hilarious face to date. Kuwabara just gave us a look that signaled he did NOT want to know.

"That was the most awesome comeback ever!" I choked out, in tears.

"Agreed." Botan was wiping her streaming eyes too; Kurama smirked smugly but said nothing. Kuwabara watched the movie Koenma had put on while Yusuke kept trying to get answers out of us. Hiei merely glowered at the four of us while we joked around.

"Time to turn in." Yusuke mumbled, half asleep. It was now one AM; Kurama somehow managed to sneak off right after me and Botan after that. The three of us met in my room. I swear, we'll ALWAYS meet in there...it's like my room's some sort of magnet or something. It draws people there. Hm, I might want to put some research in on that...

"So what's going on, exactly?" Kurama inquired as he sat on the windowsill-turned-bed; Botan sank into a bean bag chair I had recently acquired as I plopped down on my bed.

"Can you be a bit more specific? There's a lot going on..." I whined which caused two pairs of eyes to roll.

"Why haven't you been practicing like normal?" Botan questioned.

"That's because my power's been sealed." I admitted quietly, tugging my shirt back to reveal all of the spiral except the part that overlapped with my mark.

"How long ago did this happen?" Kurama's eyes were slightly wider than normal.

"It happened right after Hiei marked me so at first I thought it was because he marked me...it's not the case, obviously, but..." I sighed and frowned. "I haven't found any counter-spell or even the spell that made this."

"Anything else going on?" Botan questioned.

"Well...If I could, I'd like to start learning how to use weapons." I mumbled quietly. "I know I'm breaking laws within my home but...considering the circumstances, I don't have much of a choice..." I sighed mentally, waiting for their reactions.

"Staff?" Botan asked immediately, remembering our countless conversations about weapons, no doubt.

"Yeah." I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly.

"I don't know much about staves." Kurama murmured, obviously thinking. "The only one who probably does is Genkai."

"We could ask Koenma for a group training camp, come to think of it...." Botan added; I merely sat there and listened as they tossed out ideas. A week later found the five of us and Botan at the bottom of a large hill-type area, just having been dropped off by the bus. Suddenly glad I decided to pack light, I hefted my bag over my shoulder and prepared to begin the hike.

(Koenma's P.O.V.)

I frowned as I watched the group begin to trek up towards Genkai's. Kurama, Botan and Kohaku were getting along. Yusuke was making an attempt and Kuwabara didn't seem to be averse to spending time with the girl but Hiei just ignored her completely. Unless they began acting like a real team and Hiei had a major attitude adjustment, this experiment would be doomed to fail.

(Back to Haku's P.O.V.)

I don't care what you people say. That woman is the fucking anti-Christ...or at least somehow related to 'im. Jeez. She's insane! I've spent the past I don't know how long training with five 100 lb. weights attached to me to make it harder and she managed to get me to take every single one of the damned things off just by having me do her "normal" training regimen. I'm so tired I don't think I even have the strength to get changed out of the clothes I trained in. "You're apart of the angel elite"...mmhm. They just neglect to mention that regular demons could eat you for breakfast. Damn them. No, double damn them. This is the most physically fit I've been in my entire life and I'm still getting my ass whooped into shape by an old human!

I'm going to bed. And not getting up. Ever. Or so I thought. That insane anti-Christ-like psycho marched in and dragged my ass out of bed to train at one A-fucking-M. I've changed her "nickname" though...now it's just "witch". Anti-Christ-like psycho is too much of a mouthful when you're running laps and out of breath. Time to enter the kitchen: yaye, breakfast. I dragged my battered and sore being in through the door, ignoring the seven resident demons who drew back as soon as I walked in. Apparently I'm going to purify them or something if I get too close. Yeah right. Shove that idea somewhere appropriate, guys and girl. I looked up from my miserable-ness long enough to see Hiei sit himself down in the seat I had been about to sink in to and there were no other seats at the table. I walked over to the chair, bristling with anger.

"Move." I hissed, knowing he had done it on purpose.

"Make me." He stated coldly, smirking when I did nothing.

"You asked for it, fucker." I growled out before knocking the chair out from under him and then ramming my knee into the middle of his spine. He landed on the ground and rolled away, hissing in pain when he tried to sit up. "Hope I broke your vertebrae 'cuz I sure as hell ain't healin' it." I calmly righted the chair and threw myself moodily into it, knowing the fear of the other seven demons had probably just escalated but at this point, I was too tired and hungry to care.

"Having a hard time?" There was sympathy in Kurama's green eyes as he watched me; Botan's eyes held the same look to them.

"Gonna bitch about it because you actually have to work for something?" Hiei cut in, now in his customary spot. I closed my eyes and tried to compose myself before thinking to hell with it.

"So I didn't WORK to get where I am now? Or where I was before I showed up? News flash, asshole, it took me a century to get to the rank of captain and by angel standards, that's a prodigy. Wanna know why? Because I, unlike most cadets, worked my ass off and did what I needed to do no matter how tired, weak, or sick I was. I, also unlike someone I wish I didn't know, wasn't born with an obscene amount of strength." I seethed, about ready to show him what I had just learned that morning. Well, maybe it wouldn't be quite the same; the witch didn't shove the staff up my ass. On second thought, maybe I should remove the ten foot pole already up there first.

"Hiei." Kurama admonished and Yusuke started laughing.

"You always take her side, Kurama." He choked out.

'I doubt it but maybe I'm just prejudiced.' I thought as Kuwabara joined in on the laughter. I ignored everyone as I dug into my meal, hoping everyone would just shut up and knowing full well no one would. As soon as I finished my meal, I was dragged back outside by the witch and told I was to do pushups until my arms wouldn't support me. Growling obscenities in every language I knew, I did so. 'No pain, no gain.' I repeated I don't know how many times. I had just stumbled inside at about eight PM, finally done all the other exercises and was tripped by Hiei in front of everyone. I stood, gritted my teeth and stormed off to bed, ignoring my growling stomach.

The events of a few days later weren't much better.

"What's with all the collared shirts?" Kuwabara asked; I ignored him and left the room, tired of being watched like some dangerous animal by those seven demons. I was beginning to resent them and I knew from experience that resent almost always became hatred in my case. I was startled out of thought when Hiei reached a hand out to move aside my collar; I freaked out and fled after the thudding sound Hiei made when he met the wall. My training had taken over for me and when he had come close enough, I had thrust the heel of my palm into his sternum. Due to our positioning and his lack of balance when struck, I sent him across the room.

The days afterwards passed as such: horrible, monotonous and draining. I often found myself longing for more training as opposed to being stuck inside with Hiei, who always found a way to humiliate or torture me. I had long since stopped talking at all, seeing as all of them thought I was just paranoid about him. They were usually occupied when he chose to do something and only noticed what was happening when I stormed off. So, naturally, they were inclined to side with the person they knew better: Hiei.

One such night, I finally got sick of it.

I had just sank down into a chair in one of the side kitchens when Hiei walked in and purposely knocked over my chair, causing me to fall and land so awkwardly that my head bounced a few times from the sheer force of my collision with the ground. I snarled, not caring what the hell I sounded like, and shot to my feet, lunging at him.

"YOU MOTHER FUCKING ASSHOLE!" I screamed as I pummeled every inch of him within reach; I failed to notice that his eyes were wide for a moment as well as the arrival of everyone else. "I AM SO FUCKING SICK OF YOU! DON'T YOU HAVE ANYTHING BETTER TO DO THAN PICK ON ME?! NO, I FORGOT! HIEI JAGANSHI IS A FUCKING COWARD WHO HAS TO GO AFTER SOMEONE HE KNOWS WON'T FIGHT BACK! WELL TOO DAMN BAD FOR YOU, PAL, I'M TIRED OF IT!" I stopped swinging wildly, pounding him, and stood there, panting heavily as my tortured arms hung limply by my sides, ignoring everyone's stares. I glared venomously down at the wide-eyed demon on the floor in front of me. "Fuck you. Go to hell." I rasped out as I left, my throat raw and burning from the screams I let fly as well as my complete silence for about five months. I sprang up into the air, unfurled my wings and flew off into the night.

(No One's P.O.V.)

/You are a coward./ Somni hissed from the doorway Haku had just fled through; everyone spun, startled. /You pick on one who avoids you for the simple fact that no one else cares or notices. You make me sick./ With an angry twitch of her tail, Somni spun around and left, leaving a dazed group of people trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

(Haku's P.O.V. again)

I flew fast and far, glad to be free of everything and everyone. Well, maybe not everyone, as Somni was trailing along behind me, albeit at a much slower pace. Despite that, she was waiting at the lake I spied and decided to land at.

"Get rid of this thing." I hissed, fumbling at my shirt collar and tugging it aside to reveal the mark Hiei had given me; she obliged and bit down, literally ripping the mark off and tossing the hunk of skin into the lake. I watched it sink into the depths as my blood floated to the surface, leaving a brief silvery cloud on the surface of the water. Without a word, I stitched it up and bound it with bandages, not even bothering to wash off the silvery stains.

(No One's P.O.V.)

Kurama and Botan had exchanged worried looks when Hiei suddenly collapsed in the hallway, his mouth filling with blood. It was now a week from then and he was still in a coma. He didn't even react when someone entered the room, even when Kuwabara had walked in with Yukina once. Sometimes he would drift towards consciousness enough to move but nothing more. Presently, Botan and Kurama were the only ones with him.

"I think Haku did something to the mark." Kurama murmured silently. "It's the only thing I can think of that would do something like this to him..."

"But if she destroyed it..." Botan closed her eyes and turned away from Hiei.

"That's what I don't get..." He acknowledged, giving Botan a quick hug. Since Hiei's collapse, Koenma contacted them, letting them know that the mission with the Orb of the Elements was null for the time being. As they watched, Hiei turned on his side and curled up, trembling. Botan reached out a hand but Kurama stopped her and sadly shook his head.

(Haku's P.O.V.)

No one had seen me since my flip out except the witch but that was only for training so it didn't count. I never reentered the dojo and spent most of my time flying to avoid anyone who might come looking for me. As far as I knew, no one else could fly, so I had a pretty good advantage. Another month passed and I enjoyed this one to a point; I was free of Hiei and of dealing with anyone save the witch and Somni. All in all, it was a pretty good deal...I just forgot one thing. I forgot what happens when a angel overtaxes their wings. I was flying above the lake where my mark currently resides when my wings suddenly just vanished and I found myself in free fall. Ordinarily, this would have been no problem but my power was still completely sealed and I had no way to cushion my fall except to land in the lake, which I was already doing. Impact sent waves of pain through my body; I couldn't even move and just began to slowly sink underwater.

'Well, fuck.' Was my first conscious thought as the area around me darkened as I sank much deeper. My last was 'looks like I'm joining my mark on the bottom'. When I finally awoke about a month later, I found Genkai waiting for me; a quick glance around showed me that I was inside the room I had claimed as mine.

"You are to sleep in here, not outside." She stated flatly before leaving. I stared after her as Somni curled up and drifted back off. I could tell she was glad that I had woken but still needed sleep. Yawning softly, I echoed that sentiment and slipped into unconsciousness myself. I completely lost track of time after that, devoting myself to training and beating my expectations as well as the witch's. I was all alone in my room one night as Somni had gone out hunting and I had snuck a dagger upstairs. I pulled it out of my drawer and looked at it.

I looked down at my wrist, at the dagger, then back at my wrist. As I began to unsheathe it, Kiyoshi's face swam before my eyes and I immediately clicked hilt on the edge of the sheath. Angry at myself now, I threw it across the room, vowing that if I ever picked it up again other than to train, I would suffer. I burrowed into my blankets and curled up, waiting for Somni's reassuring warmth to return. If I tried to sleep without her nearby now, I had nightmares. Reoccurring memories was the factual description but the term 'nightmares' fit them better in my opinion. Not to long after that, I was called to an outdoor training session with everyone, including Hiei. I overheard that he recently recovered from being in a comatose state.

'Serves him right.' I thought vehemently as I stood, waiting for the witch's orders.

"Haku, you'll be facing Hiei in a sparring match." The witch stated and I smirked with vindictive pleasure. Payback was a bitch but something told me this was going to hurt him far worse than it would hurt me. I stepped up, not knowing that Somni had called Kira, Kai and Kaede to watch the match or that I was still smirking, a merciless look about me. I took my stance and waited for her signal to begin. Automatically, I sized Hiei up. He looked like he would still be able to pack one hell of a punch, as usual, but I figured as far as kicks went I could beat him. Weapons were outlawed so I had nothing to fear from the sheathed sword at his waist. When she gave the signal, I rushed in, throwing about ten punches and landing about eight of them. I continued by barrage of attacks until he shoved me back and swept my feet from under me. He struck at my leg and everyone heard a sickening crack like a gunshot as I flew a few feet; I nearly screamed when I landed. All I saw as I struggled to stand was Hiei coming closer, leisurely.

Filled with an anger I thought I had no longer possessed, I stumbled to my feet, ignoring the stabbing pains in my leg and managing to land a hit on his cheek. Startled, he stumbled back a step or two and stared at me.

"This is a sparring match." I hissed. "Not 'I'm gonna break a bone and try to find out which one I "accidentally" broke and pretend to be concerned'." Right as I was about to say more, I vanished alongside Somni. I landed in my old room and found Kai waiting for me.

"Koey." He held out his arms, speaking for one of the few times in his life. I just broke down then and there, running into his hug, no longer able to feel my broken leg. I buried my face in his shoulder and just sobbed as he smoothed my hair, comforting me just by being there. Every year around the anniversary of Kiyoshi's death I got like this and the events before the normal mess plus stewing from last year just made me a wreck. Everyone back home knew when I was having a hard time: I rarely talked, I became sullen and developed a sadistic streak a mile wide.

I don't know how long I stayed in Kai's arms, comforted by my oldest friend and the one everyone had thought would be my mate-to-be but I eventually extracted myself. To my shock, I was told I was to stay in the angel realm for a whole year and then I would be going back. My year of freedom and normalcy I enjoyed immensely, even the time when I normally went to pieces. Accidentally, I ended up going on a year long mission that had nothing to do with Reikai. It might have dumped me amongst a bunch of humans but it was one of the best times of my life. My last few days of "freedom" were spent with Somni, Kai, Kira and Kaede, cruising through the city area and relaxing. The girls, of course, had to know the exact details of my trip, which I was happy to supply for once. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that I actually enjoyed my trip...

"Here." Kira muttered, handing me a piece of paper as she followed Kai and Kaede out. I blinked then opened the paper, wondering what it had to do with how I was getting there. To my surprise, it was the song I had written over two years ago for...Hiei. Sighing softly at the irony of it all, I took a breath and began to sing. A familiar voice cut across the void being created and I recognized it as Koro's. He had been a good friend of Kiyoshi's and I nodded to him as we passed one another in the void. I yawned quietly as I saw Botan, Hiei, Kurama, Kuwabara, Yusuke and Koenma on the opposite side of the room as Somni and me.

As soon as Hiei saw me, he lunged at me but all of us could see the spark of panic in his eyes, as though he was no longer in control of his body. I tried in vain to dodge but was tackled to the ground by the wide eyed demon; a memory surged and I froze, panic overtaking me as well. The next thing I remember is Somni snarling at all of us.

/Sorry./ She murmured as I blinked, dazed. /It was the only way to snap you back to the present./

"Believe me, I'm glad you did." I muttered, having no desire to relive the memory ever again.

"You okay?"

"You weren't responding." Botan and Kurama questioned and commented respectively.

"I'm fine." I replied, noticing now that my hands were shaking with adrenaline and knew instinctively that if I stood now, my legs would just collapse from under me.

/What is your problem?!/ Seethed Somni at Hiei, who suddenly had everyone staring at him.

"I'm beginning to think that you were right." Botan commented icily as murmurs broke out.

"No, that was different..." I broke in as Somni growled in frustration.

"How so?" Kurama questioned as Somni hissed at me; the others, including Hiei, stared.

"Simple. The mess before was all him: he did it of his own volition. I could tell this time that his movements were sluggish." I grumbled.

/And the panic in his eyes./ My annoyingly depressing panther added coldly as Hiei's face darkened.

"Break it up NOW." I told both parties as I pulled out my staff. "I learned from someone who can nail a bull's eye from fifty yards away how to use this thing."

/I was there. Don't remind me./ Somni growled as I rolled my eyes and took a half-hearted swipe at her. Kurama seemed to be considering me; Yusuke nodded to me in greeting so I nodded back.

"Is your power still sealed?" He asked, forgetting to switch languages; I smacked my forehead as everyone except Botan, he and Hiei gaped.

"What kind of fool are you?!" Hiei hissed. I looked at him for real this time and was startled to find that he looked very ill. His skin had a greyish tinge to it, he had bags under his eyes and he had definitely lost weight. I frowned and turned to Somni.

"Can you still do that thing?" I questioned, hoping she would get it; I received a nod and she did so. What I saw caused me to wince. "What did you do to your soul?" Everyone froze. "Hey, just because I can't pull it off doesn't mean I can't get Somni to help!"

"You could see that?" Kurama questioned finally.

"Um, sorta. I could probably pull it off if my power wasn't sealed but it wouldn't be as clear and precise as when she did it..." I mumbled. A few moments passed, during which no one said anything.

"Hiei, aren't you going to tell her?" Kuwabara was the one who spoke up this time; I gaped as he had said his name instead of an insult.

"It's none of your business." He growled as he stood; I automatically caught him when he passed out. Kurama escorted me to Hiei's room, explaining what was wrong in an undertone; I looked down.

"The reason he's still sane and alive is because when I summoned you guys by spell-singing I bonded my soul to his." I murmured quietly.

"Whatever you do, don't dissolve that connection." Kurama half begged, half commanded.

"I won't." I promised quietly as I carried him into his room. "Just so you know..." I pulled down my collar to reveal the mark still there, though Hiei stirred and thrashed violently, so I quickly covered it. "Apparently cutting doesn't work."

"You need to tell him." With that, the redhead disappeared; my only other companion was too busy playing rat catcher in the kitchens, so I was left alone to face Hiei as he slowly awoke.

"That damn fox told you." He snarled, trying to sit up and stopping halfway, eyes wide as a spasm shook his too-thin frame. I quickly looped an arm around him to support him and he collapsed back against me, his eyes partially lidded.

"He did." I admitted quietly as his countenance darkened again; I sighed and wondered how to do this. "Quick question for ya."

"What?" he growled.

"What's with the whole mate thing?" I hoped what he said would answer my question before...

"A demon marks their mate when they want to be with them forever." Said demon snarled angrily. "Gonna--" He broke off and fixed his wide eyes on me when I tugged my collar away to reveal the mark. "You..."

"You marked me when I was flying you to the portal...after the fiasco with that caped guy." I muttered quietly. "I wasn't too sure what a mark was or what it meant and I didn't want you to be stuck with me because you bit me when you were delirious."

"...what color did it glow?" His voice sounded quieter but not necessarily gentler.

"Angel colors are different from demon." I mumbled; he glared at me before wincing. I sighed and shifted him gently so his head was resting on the shoulder that was marked. "Look for yourself." He tugged at my collar and released it like a hot brick, his eyes wide and breathing erratic. "Hiei. Red for angel means love." I sighed; he hadn't heard me as he was still freaking out. Groaning mentally, I tugged him onto my lap and smiled, about to giggle, when he froze. "I told you. Red means love." His eyes widened and I just pulled him a bit closer, noting that he seemed cold. He moved, trying to get me to put him down but I held him a bit tighter. "No way. This is the first time I've gotten to hold you since you marked me and I intend to shut that part of me up."

"What...?" He murmured tiredly, having stopped fighting once he realized I wasn't about to let him go.

"When I first came back from my flying fest, whatever the mark creates wanted me to run over and practically tackle you." I mumbled as he shifted so his head was tucked under mine. He nodded and I squirmed slightly because his hair tickled my neck. "Hiei?" Weary eyes connected with mine. "My power is sealed, so I can't heal your soul--"

"I know." Was the weary replied. He stiffened as another spasm gripped him. When it ended, I had a nearly comatose demon on my lap.

"Hiei, I can still heal your soul!" I managed out, hoping he would hear me. "I just can't use my magic...so I have to use the older method of doing it." The smallest of nods was my reply; I bit my lip, trying to ignore the burning that was building up behind my eyes. "I put you through hell." I mumbled quietly and closed my eyes in an attempt not to cry. I can't believe I did this to him.

The silent but conscious demon resting on me drifted into a restless sleep as I lost my battle. I spent all night helping him through nightmares so he could rest: I was betting that the nightmares accounted for some of the damage and knew I'd get my own when the healing process finally started. Sometime during the night I had dragged us both onto his bed for the simple fact that I almost dropped him a few times. I had just drifted off to sleep when he began to stir. What woke me was when he shifted a bit closer, starting to shiver. I slipped my arms around him without opening my eyes and was slightly startled when he merely gave in.

"You alright?" I looked down at the exhausted demon.

"Fine." Hiei rasped quietly.

"C'mon." I sat up only to have him slide off and land on the bed, his eyes partially lidded. Sighing mentally, I climbed out of bed only to have him grab my wrist, his eyes now fully opened. "I'm getting you a cup of water." I reentered his room, having fetched a cup and some lukewarm water from his bathroom and sat down on the bed beside him, carefully having measured the distance between us. I helped him sit up and got him to drink the water; all he wanted to do after that was go back to sleep. I rejoined him under the covers to keep him warm and slipped my arms around him; he relaxed and slowly drifted off. To my surprise, he had no nightmares; I pondered this as our first day together since over two years ago passed. No one came to bother us either, which was another surprise but I was glad. I did NOT want to deal with any teasing or whatever else Yusuke and Kuwabara would come up with, not to mention the look on Kurama's face when he found out I was in bed with Hiei. He would assume the worst; never mind that both of us were clearly clothed.

"The healing..." He murmured as I jumped, startled to find he was awake.

"I'm going to have to stay within ten feet of you at all times." I told him. "Physical contact works the best--" I was cut off when his lips claimed mine; his eyes were wide, so I knew it was instinct. I calmly pushed him off and tried not to wince when he recoiled. "Sorry." His eyes were dull now and I felt guilt welling up. "Hiei, I'm not ready for that aspect of being mates yet. I didn't think I'd ever even have a mate." He nodded slightly but still kept the distance maintained between us. "I'm sorry." I repeated quietly, wanting to fix it but not knowing how.

/Ah, the joys of love./ I felt Hiei jump as I did, startled by Somni's sudden appearance. /Can you two make up already? I don't much feel like being in the room with two awkward people./ she grumbled as she stretched out on Hiei's window sill. I could tell just to look at him that he was not happy; I slipped an arm around him, hoping I wasn't pushing my luck. He slowly relaxed but I could tell he was still very annoyed at Somni. /See? You two obviously care about one another...you guys just need nudges when you hit rough spots./

"I have no need for--" He broke off, his eyes cold as I realized his throat must be very sore. I gave Somni a Look.

/Very well./ she finally agreed. /But I don't want to hear it when he makes you cry./ She slunk out of the room, clearly irritated but her expression was nothing compared to Hiei's.

"Hiei, ignore her. She just likes to rile people up." I explained, hoping he would calm down before he hurt himself. His now-icy gaze was focused on me and I sighed mentally, figuring I had pissed him off. I calmly handed him the cup, as it still had water in it and banished myself to the floor. I sighed mentally as I sat indian style to meditate. Sighing mentally, I closed my eyes and tried to open my mind.

(Hiei P.O.V.)

I finished the water as I watched the girl--no, woman--on the floor who I now knew as my mate. I watched as she began to meditate. My hand found its way to the spot where my mark from her should be and I felt my aura pulse from it lightly. I felt myself drawn to her as the spot pulsed again. I sat up shakily and leaned forward to snap her out of it but lost my balance.

(Haku's P.O.V.)

I snapped out of meditation when something warm collided with my back and sent me forwards; I landed sprawled on the ground, wincing mentally as Hiei managed to roll off me. I sat up cautiously, making sure that I would be able to stop and was glad to find no injuries. Hiei was curled up on his side, his eyes pain-glazed as he shuddered again. I quickly scooped him up and was about to place him on his bed when he laid his head on my shoulder.

"Hiei?" I asked quietly, terrified. I had never seen anyone this weak. Ever. His eyes slid closed even as he tried to speak and his entire body was trembling. I sat down, careful not to jostle him and cradled him gently. The thought that I would die if he did didn't even cross my mind: I was too worried about him as my mate than as the reason I would die. "Dammit." I muttered, wishing I had my power to aid me. After three nerve-wracking days his eyes flickered open again; I breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

"I haven't been out that long." Came his growl; apparently my relief had shown on my face.

"You've been out for three days." I murmured quietly, just glad he was okay; he stared at me. I hugged him gently, relief causing me to overstep my boundaries. He closed his eyes and relaxed into the hug, startling me. "Are you okay?" A nod was my reply before he paled and his skin had a green tinge to it. I rushed him into his bathroom quickly and he emptied his stomach into the toilet. I held him up, trying to get my head to stop spinning. I hadn't realized this method would drain so much of my latent power; I couldn't use it but it would still affect me if it was drained.

"Woman?" I blinked, looking down to find Hiei looking up at me.

"I'm fine." I helped him back to his bed as my head finally stopped spinning. When I placed him on the bed, I was surprised to find myself pulled under the covers with him. I turned to face him only to find him smirking at me, his eyes cloudy and irises slitted. "Hiei!" His eyes quickly returned to normal and he shivered, looking slightly lost. I slipped my arms around him and he rested against me. I was comforted by the fact that he trusted me and that this would definitely help speed the healing process. As we lay there, I felt him slowly begin to relax and I guess I relaxed too. He looked so peaceful asleep; it was like he was a different person. I closed my eyes and joined him in slumber.

The first two weeks passed as such: I was almost never out of arm's length of Hiei. If I was, it was only for a very brief amount of time. After that long, though, I got the sense that Hiei was getting slightly annoyed; I'll admit I was as well. We were both similar in that respect: we could tolerate people if we had to but preferred to be on our own. I left him be on the bed and sat down on his windowsill, giving him the space he so clearly desired.

I was startled when, as the moon rose, Hiei stumbled onto my lap, pulling me from my trance-ish state. I automatically slipped my arms around the exhausted demon as his eyes flickered shut. They opened again and I frowned when I saw his gaze was focused outside. It was then I realized it was not my company he was tired of; he was sick of being stuck indoors. I hesitantly rubbed his back a bit and was surprised to find that he completely relaxed when I did so. His eyes showed his emotions for once and I was surprised to find that he looked almost vulnerable.

"You alright?" I murmured quietly as I continued to gently rub his back; a nod was my reply.

"You know..."

"I know you won't want to do this when you're well." I summed up as I helped him shift into a more comfortable position. "That's why I'll enjoy it while I can." The small dip his spikes signified he nodded, so I just continued trying to help him relax. I knew that being this weak must have irked him but I also knew he must have been surprised that I was capable of being this caring. I might be a general ass but I can be caring when I want to. At the moment, though, he seemed content to be near me; nah, that's just wishful thinking. Another two weeks passed, during which Hiei gradually had physical contact with me less and less. The last day we didn't even touch at all; the morning of the day after that I called to Somni. Her wave of magic washed over him and I winced to see the remaining scars on his soul but knew there was nothing I could do about them. Somni recalled her magic as I slipped from the room. Yawning and stretching, I slipped into my own, changing and getting dressed for a day I intended to get some things done in.

/You're not even going to say anything...?/ My eternal advisor admonished as I wandered to the cafeteria area.

"What's there to say?" I grumbled as I fixed myself a quick breakfast; I began eating with a sigh. "I'm gonna have to work twice as hard in order to make up for a month..." Glaring at the remainder of the food, I polished it off and cleaned the plate promptly, slipping it in the dishwasher as Botan and Kurama entered.

"Haku?!" I was suddenly seized in a bone-crushing hug.

"Ow..." I managed out as Botan released me. "Tryin' ta kill me now, eh?"

"No!" She shot back as I smirked.

"Well, as much as I'd love to chat, I've got training to do." I gave them both a quick grin before I took off down the hall, dodging various ferry girls and the occasional ogre. "Hey." I stopped and greeted a very familiar red head, three blondes, a brunette and a pinkette plus one more.

"KO-CHAN!" I was nearly knocked over by the force behind the hyperactive blonde.

"ACK!" Was all I managed out before I had been seized in a huuuge group hug. "NEED! AIIIIR!" I choked out as I tried to wiggle my way out of the squish-session. The "plus one more" separated us all. "Thank. You."

"Hn." Sasuke replied coldly.

"So how're you, Ko-chan?!" Greeted Naruto with a huge grin.

"'M good. You guys?" My reply was a chorus of "ditto"s and "we're good"s followed. "So why're you all here?"

"Koenma heard you had spent a year with us and apparently was interested. We're here to see about a treaty." Tsunade murmured.

"Cool." There were several moments of silence; I grinned sheepishly. "I'd love to stick around and chat, but I need to train. Catch up with you guys later!" I called as I hurried off, leaving them to shake their heads after me. I had just begun a workout when Hiei "appeared" inside the arena. "Hiei?" He looked pale and drawn as I approached him. "You alright?" He did not reply as he fought to catch his breath. Startled, I slipped my arms around him and held him, wondering if he would relax.

"Where were you?" He managed out as he slowly caught his breath.

"I went to go get changed." I murmured, hoping he was okay; he looked terrible. "Where have you been?"

"Everywhere." he replied, his eyes sliding closed even as his legs gave way. I caught him and carried him back to his room, careful to avoid others. I placed him gently on his bed and covered him with the sheets before writing him a quick note. Yawning quietly, I groaned mentally as I restarted the course. I was way too weak.

Several days passed, during which I trained incessantly, ran into my group of friends a couple more times, and hung out with Botan and Kurama. Hiei, to my surprise, always turned up in the arena to train whenever I did; one day, about a week after the first training session, I spied him in the stands, leaning against the wall. I snuck discreet glances at him to find that his eyes never left my form as I darted around, dodging the weapons. Finished my drilling for now, at least, I unfurled my wings and lapped the stadium a few times, wincing as my wings tugged at the scars near their emergence points. Slowly and carefully, I drifted my course towards Hiei and landed beside him, furling my wings.

"You okay?" I asked as the others entered the stadium. He nodded slightly, his gaze still on me. "See you." I murmured as I took off again, deciding to do a few more laps. As I finished my sixth one in a row, Kurama signaled me to come down. Frowning mentally, I furled my wings and went into a controlled fall. I froze when I collided with something warm and solid; Hiei dropped me on the ground to land on my ass. "What in the seven fucking hells is your problem?!" I shouted, leaping to my feet. "I've long since learned how to free fall!"

"Gah, Ko-chan, don't rip his head off!" Yelled an orange blur as I was tackled to the ground.

"Naruto, I'm gonna mangle you!" I yelled, throwing him off and lunging after him. His normal companions just sighed and watched what had become a daily spectacle. "Get over here so I can stab you in the foot!" I shouted after him as he narrowly avoided me again. Needless to say, the others were gaping. "Got you, you psycho!" I hollered, jumping on top of his back and restraining him so he couldn't move. "I win."

"You suck." Naruto grumbled as he squirmed a bit.

"Nope, that'd be you." I grinned evilly as Sakura laughed; Sasuke looked about ready to power up his chidori. "Something tells me I'm gonna get chidori'd for making comments about the team Sasu-chan plays for..." I murmured, leaping off Naruto and frantically dodging Sasuke's initial strike. I froze when I heard a snarl; the rest of the team looked like they were going to jump in. 'Damn...they'll be injured! Forget this!' I quickly unfurled my wings and leaped into the air, Sasuke's chidori missing me by mere inches. "You're not the only one with wings, Sasuke!" I shouted as I pulled the staff from my sleeve and resized it, frantically dodging his chidori current. (2)

I hurriedly shifted the staff into katana form; I locked mine with his, neither of us giving an inch. I furled my wings, dodging, parrying and lunging in a familiar rhythm. As our blades locked again, I dropped mine, lunging to the side as Sasuke stumbled forward; my elbow met his spine, helping him meet the ground. I hurriedly darted to the side as Sasuke recovered and thrust his sword at me. The next thing I knew, Sasuke was directly in front of me and his blade was level with my throat. I carefully pushed it aside with the metal on the back of my glove and socked him across the ribs. I smirked in satisfaction as he went flying; the team gaped as Sakura whooped.

"You...really have been...training with Sakura..." Sasuke coughed out as he got to his feet; I grinned and high fived Sakura.

"'Course." I flashed a peace sign at Tsunade-sama and Gaara before taking my stance. Sakura took hers and our match began. She kicked my ass, as usual; afterwards, they had some place to be, so I waved goodbye and turned to face my wide-eyed teammates. "Hi."

"You just...you...wow..." Kuwabara muttered.

"I've gotten better is all." I grinned sheepishly as I rubbed the back of my head.

"What have you been up to?" Kurama questioned.

"Plenty of things. I even trained as a ninja!" I couldn't help but grin; that had been so much fun.

"A ninja?" Kurama stared at me; I grinned.

"It was too much fun. I learned so many different and inventive ways to use my staff." I grinned widely, lost in a memory. Training with them all day showed them just how much I had improved. Nightfall found me promptly curling into my bed, curling up and dozing off. Around midnight, though, I felt a bit warmer than I should, so I opened my eyes to find Hiei lying beside me, eyes closed and expression serene. His eyes slowly opened to meet mine and his widened as he began to move away from me. I, however, was tired and sleepy, not to mention getting cold. I slipped my arms around him and pulled him closer, closing my eyes. His body was tense but slowly relaxed as I drifted off. When morning came, I opened my eyes to find I was sleeping on the well-defined chest of a familiar fire demon; my eyes were probably the size of small saucers.

"Haku...?" Came a drowsy voice and what I had assumed was the sheet turned out to be his arms wrapped around me. He opened his eyes and froze when he realized he was in my room.

"It's okay." I mumbled, shifting so I was curled up beside him instead of on top of him.

"What're you doing?" It sounded more like a command to reply than a question.

"Going back to sleep; I'm comfortable, warm and still sleepy." I mumbled, curling up a bit closer. I was about to doze off again when I felt his eyes still locked on me. "What?" I murmured sleepily as I opened my eyes to meet his.

"Don't you hate me...?" He muttered quietly, his eyes and face empty of emotion.

"If I hated you, d'you think I'd've let you sleep here? I woke up when you climbed in with me." I replied grumpily, ignoring that he failed to recall that he had woken as well. "Now, if you don't mind, it's only sunrise and I don't get up before ten!" I closed my eyes tightly as he tried to sit up. I slid my arms out from under the covers, wrapped them around his waist and pulled him back under. "And I'm holding you captive. It won't kill you to sleep in for once." I then closed my eyes and went to sleep, still keeping a hold on Hiei. My eyes fluttered back open at about 10 AM, as predicted. I smirked when I saw Hiei was asleep, although he looked tense. Closing my eyes again, I was about to drift off when he woke.

"I didn't know you were so possessive." He smirked at me, his fangs showing. I stuck my tongue out and moved back when he attempted to bite it.

"Jeez, keep your fangs to yourself." I mumbled.

"What about my tongue?" He asked, licking the mark he gave me; I shivered and covered it up before he could again.

"Especially that!" I told him flatly; he smirked at me and I saw that his eyes were misted over. "Hey!" His eyes widened as they cleared; horror was clearly reflected in their depths. "Relax." I told him, hugging him to me. "I'm tired and I know that wasn't you." He didn't relax into my hug but he didn't push me away either and I was grateful for that. When he tried to stand, though, I let him. He turned and left, leaving me to stare at the door and hope he wasn't going to do something self-destructive. I sighed before standing, snatching some clothes and slipping into my bathroom to change. I left my room, dressed, only to encounter Somni right outside.

/So what's going on now...?/ My insane guide wanted to know.

"The hell if I know." I grumbled before departing for the kitchen. A few days later found all of us in Koenma's office. I sighed mentally, hoping something interesting would happen. I was bored, and getting restless, despite the fact that I wasn't back to 100% yet.

"Kohaku." Koenma called; I blinked, startled. I was unaware that this meeting was about me. "EGO sum rumex loquor ut vestri optimus amicus quod suus materia es mortuus." I froze and fell back against the wall.

(No One's P.O.V.)

Haku's eyes widened and she turned paler than death at Koenma's statement. She fell backwards against the wall, her eyes wide in her marble complexioned face.

"Haku?!" Botan cried, shaking her shoulder. The other girl didn't respond and her hollow-eyed gaze was locked on the floor. Hiei hesitantly approached and placed a hand on her shoulder; she didn't react at all. He then shook her shoulder gently; she didn't respond. A peal of what sounded like thunder caused them all to be knocked to the ground as the top of the Reikai castle was ripped off to reveal a being that had black wings, was dressed entirely in black and seemed to be disintegrating.

(Haku's P.O.V.)

I looked up automatically only to find a partially familiar visage...only this one was different from what I remembered; it was too darkened by rage and hate to bear much resemblance to who it really was. A laugh sounded from the creature as lighting flashed behind it, ripping open the sky in a whirl of light. I could clearly see the angel realm behind it but I no longer cared.

"How does it feel, Kohakuuuuu! I have killed your best friend and his mate! NOW YOU SHALL LOSE ALL YOU HOLD DEAR!!!!" The creature in the sky held aloft the completed Orb of the Elements. I pulled my Staff from my sleeve, ignoring the tears that streamed down my numb cheeks to mingle with the rain already pouring down. The time to grieve would come later...if I survived this. I shifted it to sword form as I summoned my wings and took to the air-current strewn sky, ignoring the random buffets of wind that latched onto me and tried to deter me from my course. He blocked and waved the Orb at me; I swung my sword like a bat at it. When I connected, it shattered into dust and was scattered everywhere by the howling wind. "YOU--"

"I was never an elemental angel!" I shrieked over the growing wind; he turned to flee into the hole between the realms. "NO YOU DON'T YOU FUCKER!" I roared, soaring after him into the angel realm. I latched onto him and spun him around to face me, seething. I hadn't realized we were in the angel realm now, but I didn't care. "YOU! YOU PUT ME THROUGH HELL! WHEN I FOUND A REASON TO LIVE AGAIN, YOU TRIED TO DESTROY IT! SO, DAMMIT, YOU'RE DYING THIS TIME IF I'VE GOTTA DRAG YOU TO HELL MYSELF!" I accompanied my howl of anguish with a sword thrust through the creature's heart; I felt his hastily summoned blade pierce me as well. He vanished as I fell, down through the clouds, the city and even the slums of the angel realm. I had only enough time to scream in fear and exhilaration before I fell into the darkness below the realm.

On and on I fell, surrounded by a perpetual darkness that tore at me and burned like acid. My senses were reeling, I was screaming. I wanted it to end, I wanted to pass out. But it kept going; I heard my scream go on and on in the endless darkness. I looked up in time to see the last flicker of light from above vanish. I sunk farther and farther, my screams making my ears bleed as blood poured from the wounds inflicted by the darkness. The pain...it never ended. It was all I could think, feel or comprehend.

Pain...endless...burning...screaming...carving...pain.

Part one  
Is finally done  
Now it is time for part two  
You'll tune in, won't you?

-x-x-x-x-

(1) - Kurama was going to say "You mean someone without a penis?"

(2) - She was implying Naruto was gay...and the guy he's closest to is Sasuke, thus suggesting he was 'sucking' on Sasuke...

And this is where I leave you...

Part II, Angel's Rewind, shall commence...soon.

Emma


End file.
